The Death of Sydney Bristow
by LilyoftheValley4
Summary: Female with brown hair found dead, two bullet holes to the chest. CIA's worst fears confirmed. SD-6 has become more powerful. *Now Finished*
1. The Contradictory Mission

Author's Note: Don't hesitate to read and review! 

Disclaimer: I own nothing, and never will. L Oh well, just don't sue me.

The Death of Sydney Bristow

"Any word from Mountaineer?" Agent Michael Vaughn asked his friend Agent Eric Weiss.

"Nope, sorry Vaughn."

"Jesus, she should have checked in by now," Vaughn said, frantically running a hand threw his hair. "How long since we were last in contact with Sydney?"

"Twelve hours," Weiss responded grimly.

"Agent Vaughn. I think you should listen to this." Vaughn went up to the computer assigned to Agent Patricia Kenmore. "I accidentally stumbled on this transmission between two police officers in Sweet Water, Nebraska." Vaughn froze. Sweet Water was the City where Sydney's mission was.

"Play it," Vaughn ordered, but not really wanting to hear it.

"This is C-241 requesting the presence of an ambulance, over."

"Copy that C-241, what is your situation?"

"I'm located on Demark Avenue. I've got a young Caucasian female who has been shot. Looks like an attempted robbery. She has no identification."

"Rescue is on its way, over and out."

"C-241 over and out." The radio turned to static. Vaughn remained motionless. To any other beholder the transmission would mean nothing. Nothing but a daily transmission of a fatal robbery attempt. However, Sydney's drop off point was located on Demark Avenue, and the fact that female had been found there murdered was too much of a coincidence for Vaughn.

"Agent Kendall," Vaughn called to the FBI agent. Kendall approached Vaughn.

"What do you have?" he asked.

"We have reason to believe that Agent Bristow may be in trouble. I think we should go to Sweet Water and make sure she's alright."

"And what are you basing this on, Agent Vaughn?" Vaughn told Agent Kenmore to play the recording again.

"I think the women is Agent Bristow. The attack happened at the place of the drop off," Vaughn explained.

"Agent Kenmore, what time did this transmission take place?" Kendall asked ignoring Vaughn.

"9:23 p.m., Sir."

"Thank you," Kendall said, and began to walk away, but Vaughn grabbed his arm. 

"What about Sydney?" Vaughn inquired.

"We have no evidence that anything has happened to Agent Bristow. The evidence that the recording presents is not sufficient enough to risk Agent Bristow's life. Speaking that this mission is for Sloane and not for the CIA, sending in a team would raise too much suspicion." Kendall paused. "Furthermore, Agent Vaughn, the time sequence, if you have cared to notice, does not match. Sydney Bristow was scheduled to make the drop off at 10:05 p.m. This does not put Agent Bristow at the scene of the shooting."

"But Sydney has not checked in for twelve hours," Vaughn argued.

"You know as well as I do, Agent Vaughn, that many different scenarios could have arisen. She may have not have had a chance to leave the sight of her partner in time to check in." Kendall gave Vaughn a hard stare. "My advice to you Agent Vaughn, is to not let your emotions get in the way of your logic." Leaving his words for Vaughn to ponder, Kendall left. 

Vaughn slammed on the desk, frustrated by Kendall's stubbornness, and was soon approached by Jack Bristow.

"Have you heard from her yet?" he asked.

"No, Mr. Bristow, nothing." Vaughn could tell from his expression that he was worried.

"What does Kendall have to say about the lack of contact from Sydney?"

"He's not worried. I want to get someone out there, just to investigate."

Jack Bristow thought for a minute. "I've got a contact we can use. He works in the police department. Since it's too dangerous to send agents in, we'll inquire secretly."

"Agent Bristow, Agent Vaughn," Agent Kenmore called. They both rushed to her computer. "Look at this." She stopped apparent video footage so that they had a view of a grocery store that was closed. A trashcan sat next a light post, the only source of light in the whole footage. 

"This was taken by the bank on the opposite side of the street," Agent Kenmore explained. "Apparently they have outside video cameras."

The next second a woman entered the screen. She was still in the dark portion of the shot, but it was apparent that she was young and had dark hair. She also seemed to be carrying a manila envelope. The next second, she was in the light. Vaughn could recognize her features exactly. It was Sydney. He watched as she walked over to the trashcan slowly, and placed the manila envelope inside. She began to walk away, but she was stopped. A man had jumped out of the shadows, a gun in his hand. 

Sydney didn't waste an instant. A quick kick and the gun went flying. She stayed in a fighting stance, prepared for hand-to-hand combat, but the masked man had something else in mind. He reached into his pocket and withdrew another gun, and fired. Sydney stumbled backwards, and he fired again. Sydney hit the ground with a sickening thud, and the shooter grabbed the first gun and ran into the shadows of the night.


	2. Reality

Chapter 2

Vaughn and Jack just stood there staring at the screen. Jack suddenly broke the silence. "I'll get Kendall and get a team out there immediately," Jack said with authority, but Vaughn could tell he was shaking. 

Vaughn turned to Agent Kenmore, "Rerun the tape and see if you can find any important characteristics of the shooter," Vaughn said mechanically. He turned away so he wouldn't see it all over again. He couldn't handle it. _She has to be okay_, he thought. _She just has to be._

SWEET WATER

The investigation team consisted of Vaughn, Kendall, Eric Weiss, and Jack Bristow. Kendall had insisted that they stay small in order to keep from being noticed. They arrived in Nevada within two hours.

"Jack, you will go to the police station to inquire about Agent Bristow through your contact," Kendall said. Weiss, you'll go to Sweet Water hospital and inquire about the admission of a recent shooting victim. Vaughn, you'll come with me to investigate the crime scene."

"But Sir," Vaughn protested. "Can't I go with Weiss?"

"No," Kendall said, shaking his head forcefully. "Right now your emotional state is not in consideration of logic. We need to keep a low profile so we need an uninvolved agent to go in. Now lets go." Kendall had rented three cars for them to use. Jack took the first one, Weiss the second one, and Vaughn and Kendall the last one.

Vaughn and Kendall proceeded to Demark Avenue, in silence. When they arrived. The scene had been marked off, but most of the evidence had been removed. However, as Vaughn walked by, he could several blood spots on the pavement. _Sydney's blood_, he thought. He walked towards the trashcan and looked inside. Surprisingly, the manila envelope was still there. He reached in and pulled it out. 

He lifted the metal tabs that kept the envelope closed on the back, and took out the contents. It contained the documents that Sydney had been sent to retrieve. Her counter mission had been to make copies of the documents for the CIA and put them in the trashcan in an unmarked manila envelope. He handed the documents to Kendall.

"She was here," he said quietly. Kendall's cell phone rang.

"Kendall," he answered. 

"I've made inquiries with my contact," Jack Bristow said. "He confirms what the tape showed us. Two chest wounds in a Caucasian female with brown hair. They have yet to identify her. They said," Jack Bristow stopped, having a hard time getting out the words. "They said she died on contact with the second bullet."

Kendall nodded grimly. "Go to the hospital, we'll rendez-vous there."

"Who was it? What did he say?" Vaughn asked after Kendall had hung up.

"It was Jack. We've got an unconfirmed report that the girl died. We still don't know if it's Bristow." Vaughn nodded and sat back in his seat. Just the idea that it might be Sydney was driving him crazy.

Kendall glanced over at him. "You got to get your head in the game, kid. You can't be wallowing in your own sea of self-pity. We don't know if it's Bristow, and until we do, you're to think straight and optimistically." Kendall was glad to see Vaughn sit slightly straighter, but he couldn't help thinking that it might not be a good idea to get the boy's hopes up.

They arrived at the hospital well within twenty minutes, but Jack had still beat them. By the time they had parked and entered the reception area, Jack had already been well informed in the information that Weiss had obtained from the doctors. 

Upon Vaughn's question of updated news Jack replied, "She didn't make it. We've requested to view the body. The coroner will be with us in a few minutes." As if on cue, a man of about forty walked up to them.

"Mr. Bristow?" The man inquired, while looking at the somewhat large group interested in this one particular body.

"They're with me," Jack said agitated. Vaughn could tell from his face that the tension was getting to him. He had seen the tape, he had heard the audio, and now he had to see the body to see if all of this was real.

"Of course. Follow me." The man, whose nametag read Dr. Ryan, led them to the nearest elevator. The wait was short but for at least two members of the group, time ticked by agonizingly slow. 

The elevator took them deep down into the depths of the hospital. The doors opened into a stark white hallway. It was completely sterile, and devoid of all color. Devoid of all life. To call the room a crypt was quite adequate. 

Slowly the group walked forward down the hallway, until Dr. Ryan stopped in front of a set of automatic doors. He bent down and slid his key guard into the slot and they entered the room. 

This room was white, like the hallways, but on either side of the walls were long metal cabinets. They resembled metal filing cabinets, and each one had a number. There were a few metal tables laid out but all were empty, except for one. One that was covered with a white sheet, that undoubtedly covered a body. They approached the table.

They filed around the table. Jack, Vaughn, Weiss, and Kendall remained on one side with the coroner on the other. The coroner looked at the group briefly before reaching for the top of the sheet. He pulled it back slowly, letting the crease of the sheet rest on her pale neckline.

"Oh my God," Vaughn exclaimed. He wanted to turn away, but he couldn't. Her limp brown hair fell around her shoulders. Her eyes, most likely brown, were closed. Her normally peach face was ashen. Her lips were no longer a rosy natural red, but a lighter shade of their once vibrant color. It was indeed Sydney Bristow.


	3. Saying Goodbye

Author's note: Thank you everyone for your review so far. I'm glad you are all enjoying it and that I'm able to keep you interested. I don't want to ruin the story so Erin, Kimmers and everyone else who submitted reviews you all will have to read on and find out what happens. (Hint: look at the summary, it's not obvious, but it is a clue.)

Chapter 3

The news of Sydney's death did not remain secret from the public very long as the reporters passed off the accident as another "fatal robbery attempt" that according to the news reporters was becoming an increasing problem. The funeral was to be held four days after her death. The ceremony was to be small as it consisted only those at SD-6 and close friends. Agents of the CIA could not attend due to the fact that their presence would arise suspicion on Jack. 

Jack Bristow had not been to work since the incident and Irina Derevko had refused to speak to anyone. Vaughn had been to work, but his mind was no where in sync with his daily routines. Nothing could remove the image of Sydney's face from his mind. Nothing could keep him from thinking of her. Weiss had not even attempted to console him in such a depressed state, for he knew that nothing could penetrate his thoughts of his lost love.

* * *

Jack Bristow skimmed the crowd of well wishers. Some he looked on with memorable sadness, such as Francie and Will. Others, he wished were buried under the soil in which they were standing. In other words, Arvin Sloane. 

On any other day Jack Bristow would have sustained his anger over the affection Sloane bestowed upon his daughter with moderate ease, but today it was a struggle. Sloane had already wished his condolences for Jack's loss and it had taken everything Jack had not to punch him in the face right then and there, but it was really the next thing that Sloane said that made Jack actually want to kill him on the spot. Arvin Sloane had requested to speak at the service. 

The turmoil within Jack Bristow at the moment the question rolled of Sloane's tongue was indescribable. Especially when he knew that his only choice was to say yes. However, it wasn't until Slaone finally left his sight that Jack could breath again, but in doing so, he was overcome once again with the anguish of losing his only daughter. 

He looked solemnly at the casket the stood not fifty feet away from him. No father or mother should have to go threw what he was going threw right now. No parent should have to bury his or her own child. In any case it should be the other way around. His agony was so pronounced and unrelenting that how he managed to keep his infamous void expression was uncertain. 

He looked at his watch and realized it was time to start the service. He and the minister worked to get everyone seated, and the ceremony began. Jack really didn't pay attention to the minister's words, as he looked around at his surroundings. The day in itself was patronizing in its beauty. The sun was shinning, the birds were singing, and there was not a cloud in the sky. 

The ironic twist was how beautiful Wilmington Cemetery was on a day that contained so much sorrow. Every occupant within the plastic-white fold out chairs was dressed in some sort of shade of black, including the casket the minister currently stood in front of as he spoke. 

Finally, the minister's part of the service was over, and it was time for Sydney's friend's to speak out. First was Francie. Jack really didn't know much about her, but she made his daughter happy in having such a wonderful friend. 

"I have known Sydney for a long time," Francie began. "And she has been nothing but a wonderful person to me. She's helped me in several major decisions in my life, and for that I'll never forget her, but she was more than a friend to me, she was my sister." Francie paused as tears began to appear. "In many instances I'm sure she would have proclaimed to you that she needed me more than I needed her, but that is simply not true, because I'm telling you I've lost a sister." The tears began to pour down Francie's cheeks. "The time we spent together will be a cherished vision for me, and it is in that way that I-I'll never forget her." Francie nodded to the group and stepped down from the podium. Next up was Will Tippin.

He approached the podium. He looked straight at the audience, as if he knew exactly what he wanted to say, and meant it. "I've been a journalist for most of my life," Will began, "And I've been able to describe the truth in every form. But as I stand here before you all today, to say good-bye to my friend, I find it difficult just to express what she meant to me. Sydney was," Will stumbled over the words, "Sydney was an amazing person. She died young, and for that it's hard, but it would be wrong to say that her life wasn't fulfilled. In her life, she helped many people and she left those of us behind with many memories. Sydney may be gone, but it's not completely good-bye. My friend will always be with me, and with that, she'll always be with all of you. Thank you," Will concluded. The words sounded awkward to his own ears, but he hoped his point got across, because he believed in everything he had said.


	4. The Crying of the Heart

Chapter 4

This was the time that Jack Bristow dreaded. It was time for Arvin Sloane to approach the podium, and Jack couldn't be more disgusted. The last thing he wanted was this smooth talking SOB standing in front of all of Sydney's friends and falsely proclaiming Sydney's value to Credit Dauphine. It was a good thing for himself, and for Sloane that Jack Bristow was good at demonstrating an expressionless countenance. 

Sloane stood at the podium and cleared his throat. Dressed in a black suit, with his face unshaven, he looked quite solemn, but in an odd way, he looked quite proud.

"Jack Bristow and I go back a long way," Sloane said, glancing at Jack as he said this. "We he met Laura and had a beautiful little girl, I know I was just as proud as Jack. Sydney was perfect in every way, and felt obliged to take her under my wing, like a second father. The day that Sydney showed interest in working at the bank with her father and me, I was ecstatic. Since then, Sydney had shown nothing but loyal devotion for her work. Finding out about Sydney's death was more than a shock. No one can replace Sydney at her job, as a friend, and as my daughter. Thank you." Jack secretly glared at Sloane's speech. Of all the things Sloane could have said, calling Sydney his daughter was definitely the worst.

The minister concluded the ceremony, as Sydney's friends approached the casket and laid a rose upon it. Dixon and Marshall both approached the casket with heads bent, sorrow filled their eyes. Jack turned away, unable to watch the tears of Sydney's friends. Jack however looked up as a hand touched his shoulder. Jack fought the urge to cringe.

"I meant everything I said up there, my friend," Sloane said earnestly. "You can talk to me whenever you feel the need."

Jack faked a solemn smile. "Thank you." Sloane proceeded to Sydney's casket a placed a single red rose on Sydney's grave. Jack waited till the last person had left, before he proceeded to the grave. He bent down on his knees before the massive casket, and spoke softly to its cold black outside.

"Sydney," he whispered. "Why did you have to go? Why, why, why?" Jack grabbed the edge of the metal casket and squeezed it hard, angrily. "Don't you know that you're what makes me strong?" Jack was filled with anguish. "Sydney," he cried out. He reached up, not even caring if anyone was around, and ripped off the rose that Sloane had placed upon her grave. He paid no attention to the thorns that pricked and scraped his skin. Jack threw the flower to the ground. 

"I will find out who did this to you, Sydney," Jack said hardening, but only to collapse again onto his knees beside the casket, and for the first time in a long time, a wet salty liquid traveled down from his eye to his cheek, and down to his chin. Jack Bristow was crying, and he didn't know how to stop it.

* * *

It was three o'clock in the morning and Vaughn stood at least one hundred feet away from Sydney's grave. With flowers in hand, Vaughn found that approaching her grave was near impossible. It all seemed so final now, and there was an unfulfilled emptiness left in his heart where he had needed to say good bye. Vaughn had wanted so much to come to the funeral, but he knew he couldn't. Even coming now to visit her grave didn't make the good-bye complete. 

Slowly he allowed his feet to move towards the place where she lay. The ground was still brown at the fresh dirt that had been laid upon the casket. A head stone had yet to be placed at the front of the grave, but it was just as well. He wasn't ready to see her death written in writing. He gently placed his bouquet on top of the soil. 

One of the things that was so nerve wracking was that he never gotten the chance to tell her how much he had loved her. His emotions remained bottled up, just as they had been before, but now, he felt as if he was going to explode. He needed her to know now. He knew it would do no good, but he needed it to be said. 

"Sydney," Vaughn said to the ground. "I-I love you. Oh God, how do I love you." Vaughn bent his head as tears appeared in his eyes. Suddenly, he froze. He heard footprints. Vaughn stood up and looked around. He pulled his gun out of his holster, and stepped over Sydney's grave.

Vaughn swung around quickly at the sound of running footsteps, and say a figure in black running swiftly towards the entrance. "Stop right there!" Vaughn yelled as he ran to the entrance gate after the fleeing figure, gun raised, but the figure had disappeared.


	5. The Hangover

Author's Note: Don't worry guys. It'll get happier, just hang in there. 

Chapter 5

Vaughn arrived at work the next morning having gotten no sleep after visiting Sydney's grave. He mechanically said hi to those who addressed him as he walked to his desk, but he didn't know why they bothered. While one half of the agency were giving him a friendly or sympathetic hi, the other half were looking at him horrified by his appearance.

His hair seemed to be matted and sticking up in several different places. His suit was slightly wrinkled and it held a trace of fresh mud from the cemetery, but it was his face that was scary. He had grown a very scratchy beard that gave him the appearance of a wild man. His eyes were slightly red and swollen, and bags were heavily present. 

Vaughn headed to his desk, pondering on the visitor in the graveyard. Who was it? A SD-6 agent? A friend of Sydney's? He wasn't sure. He really didn't see why SD-6 would send an agent to spy on Sydney's grave. Sydney was dead, and it wouldn't benefit SD-6 to spy on a dead agent. A friend was possible, but it seemed unlikely that they would be dressed in black just to skulk around a graveyard.

Vaughn leaned back in his chair and sighed. He really didn't know why he had come into work today, but to be honest, he preferred to be sulking around the office then he did home alone. _I guess I hoped I could find something here to take my mind off her_, he thought to himself.

"Hey buddy," Weiss said to him softly. Vaughn looked up. He hadn't even been aware that he was there. 

"Hey, Weiss," Vaughn said, but he didn't even attempt to smile. Weiss knew exactly how Vaughn felt inside, and there was no reason to pretend that he didn't.

"You look terrible," Weiss commented.

"Thanks," Vaughn said off-handedly. Weiss had apparently hoped to get some sort of reaction out of him through that comment, but Vaughn just couldn't.

"You should go home, Vaughn. You're not doing anyone any good here, including yourself."

Vaughn looked at his friend carefully so that he'd take him seriously. "It's keeping me away from things like the bottle."

Weiss looked at him confused. "You don't drink."

"This is a reason to start."

"Wooh, my friend. Maybe you should stay here," Weiss said looking at his friend with concern. 

"Any lead on the murderer?" Vaughn asked, wanting to keep the conversation away from himself.

"No, this guy came in the scene as quickly as he disappeared. He left no mark what so ever," Weiss replied. Weiss decided to tread carefully on the next question. "You know that as long as you're here, Kendall is going to put you to work."

"I know," Vaughn said solemnly. 

"You're going to be assigned a new agent," Weiss said.

"I know," Vaughn whispered. 

"Vaughn, you should-" Weiss started.

"Agent Vaughn!" Kendall interrupted approaching the two. "Boy, you look like hell."

"I know, Sir," Vaughn answered.

"Do you need to go home?" Kendall asked. "Cause you're not getting paid to sit here and mope."

"Yes, Sir," Vaughn answered without really knowing what he said.

"Give him a break, Sir," Weiss said. "He just lost his agent."

Kendall eyed Vaughn carefully. "I've seen many people lose partners and agents, Agent Weiss, and I can tell you Agent Vaughn here is upset over more than just losing an agent." Kendall took the last remaining set in front of Vaughn's desk. "Look, Agent Bristow was good, damn good. Losing her is going to affect the agent severely, but I know enough to realize that you, Agent Vaughn, have broken protocol and fallen for your agent. Fine, it does no good to fire you now, but I suggest you let Bristow go and get back in the game." Kendall took the file he was holding and laid it on his desk. 

"This is your new agent. Catch up on her file and give her her counter mission, to-_day_," Kendall said with emphasis. "In the future don't come to work, if you feel incapable of completely the daily duties." Kendall stood up and walked away.

"Jack ass," Weiss said, not bothering to whisper. "Are you really going to go out and meet your new agent?"

Vaughn looked at Weiss somewhat blankly. "I've got to do something."

Weiss stared at his friend, really becoming anxious. "Vaughn, you're scaring me a little. You want to talk about it?"

Vaughn shook his head. "What's to say that you don't already know?"

"Plenty. Look, I may know what you're feeling, but I've got no idea what you're thinking."

Vaughn sighed. "Maybe some other time. Right now I don't even want to think about what's in my mind." He glanced down at the file in front of him. It was weird. It kind of felt like he was betraying Sydney, replacing her if you will. He already knew he couldn't replace Sydney, but whether or not he could face meeting a different agent in their spot was another story. 

"You don't have to go," Weiss pressed his friend. "Say you're sick and call it quits for the day, huh?"

"What good would it do? I have to come in and face reality some day," Vaughn sighed. "It just feels like she's on a mission, Weiss. I think that she'll just walk in threw those doors and tell us how she survived her latest mission, and things can go back to the way they were."

Weiss nodded sympathetically, but internally he was jumping for joy that Vaughn was finally opening up, consciously or subconsciously, he didn't care. 

Vaughn looked down at his hands, and Weiss's heart began to sink. No sooner had Vaughn opened up, but he had shut down again. "Look," Vaughn said, still looking down. "You've probably got tons of work to do. You go on ahead."

"Vaughn," Weiss said. "Don't do this. Don't push away the people who care about you."

Vaughn looked up straight at Weiss. "I've got stuff to do," he said right before he looked away.

Weiss sighed in frustration. "Vaughn, I'm here for you, you know?"

"I know," Vaughn said.


	6. The Enemy

Author's Comments: Okay, everyone, this is where things turnaround. You're going to have to read on to find out if your thoughts are what you think they are. Please keep reading and reviewing. I'm very happy about all the reviews I've gotten so far. Thank you all so much!

Chapter 6

Vaughn had been staring at the files of his new agent for the past four hours, and if anyone had approached him and asked him to give the name of the agent, he'd have to say that he had no clue. Everything seemed to remind him of Sydney, and he meant everything. Just looking at the documents that Kendall had given him on his new agent reminded him of the documents he had found in the manila envelope the night Sydney had been shot. 

Vaughn shook his head slightly and tried to get himself to focus on the words in front of him. He still had to contact this agent and give her the counter mission. It would seem simple enough, but there were two problems. One, she was female, and two, she was a replacement. The idea just wasn't going over well. 

* * *

Sloane bent back in his chair, smiling to himself. Jack Bristow had reacted just as he had thought he would to Sloane's request to speak at the service. He could see the emotional struggle within him as he called Sydney his "daughter." The look had been priceless, and Sloane didn't think he'd ever forget it. 

The next sign of triumph was when Jack had thrown his flower off of Sydney's casket. Though he was a little miffed at Jack's actions, Sloane knew he was getting to the impenetrable Jack Bristow. 

"Sir?" Sloane's intercom announced the presence of an officer from security section.

"Go ahead," Sloane requested.

"We've got Agent 3471 all ready."

Sloane smiled. "Good, I'll be right down." Sloane turned off the intercom and proceeded to his door. He walked down the hallways of SD-6 seeing a mournful Dixon and a grave Marshall. Jack Bristow was no where to be seen, just as Sloane had expected. 

Sloane continued to the elevator of the Credit Dauphine building. He removed a card from his pocket and slipped into the electronic slot inside the elevator next to the floor keypad numbers. After clearing him, he pushed the "BB" key on the elevator pad and the elevator began to move downwards. All the SD office cells analyzed elevator occupants upon reaching the floor. The basement however, was restricted. Only designated employees could access it, and in doing so they need the key card that Sloane possessed. 

Once Sloane reached the basement, the elevator stopped and Sloane walked out and stopped. The room turned red and then white, and the doors before him opened. 

"Right this way, Sir," one of the guards addressed him upon reaching the floor. The basement was made to hold agents, assassins, and prisoners, all of which were made use at the disposal of the Alliance. The agents held down here were among the best in the business. All of them had loyalties or were forced to have loyalties purely to the Alliance, and knew of whom they were working for. 

Sloane followed the guard down the cinder block hallway past the many iron doors that held the agents to the Alliance. Many would wonder how it was possible for Alliance agents to be loyal when they were cooped up in the basement and secluded from society, but the truth was that behind the heavy iron doors, agents received anything they wished. For, behind these doors were rooms often furnished extravagantly. Hot tubs, pools, and beautiful women were common among these highly paid agents. 

They continued down the corridor until the guard stopped in front of the door labeled 3471. Each agent of the Alliance was given a number not a name. For these agents did not exist in society, and needed not to be addressed by anything but as a soldier. 

The guard reached for the keys and opened the door. Sloane stepped into the room and looked around for the newest agent to the Alliance. He watched as she stepped out of her bedroom and stopped dead to look at Sloane. 

She pushed her blonde hair behind her ear, and stood still, watching him. She at this moment was not following protocol. Whenever Sloane was to walk in the room, agents were to be at attention, and Agent 3471 was disrespectfully not at attention. Sloane nodded at the guard who pulled a small detonator from his pocket. He pushed the button and the agent began to shake violently until he let go. 

"At attention!" The guard yelled. The woman glared at Sloane but grudgingly assumed the attention position with her feet together, hands at her side, shoulders back, and chin up. Sloane walked up to her and glanced at the right side of her neck. The spot still had a bruise on it, but it should disappear soon enough.

"You've been informed of the admission procedure?" Sloane asked. Agent 3471 did not answer.

"Agent," Sloane threatened.

"Yes, Sir," she answered.

"So you realize that all your conversations are monitored, and your locations traced?"

"Yes, Sir," Agent 3471 answered through clenched teeth. 

"And you realize that all of your actions are punishable as just demonstrated?" Sloane asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good," Sloane said nodding satisfied. "Then enjoy your stay, Agent 3471, as that is to be your name from this stance on. We'll contact you when we need you. The phone," Sloane said pointing to the one located on the far table near the leather couch, "we'll connect you directly with an Alliance official who will get you what ever you request. Have a good day." Sloane turned away and left the room. The minute Sloane closed the door, Agent 3471 picked up the nearest object, which happened to be a vase, and threw it against the wall. Tears fell down her cheeks, away from her blue eyes. 

Agent 3471 was one of those agents who were forced in their loyalties. There was nothing more she wanted than to see the Alliance fall and then rub it Sloane's face. However, the SOB had put the damn transmitter in her neck before she had had a chance. In actuality, she didn't care about her life, but it was those from her past that Sloane threatened, and it was those people she couldn't live without. In other words, she was forced to work with the very people she had always wanted to work against.


	7. Two Sided Love

Author's Comments: Thanks for all the reviews you guys! Ya all certainly know how to make a gal feel good. Unfortunately this chapter is going to be a little depressing again, but I promise you that Chapter 8 will captivate you once again! Oh, and so you all don't think I'm a hopeless Alias addict by adding on every day, I think you should know that I've had a week of school off because of snow, leaving me much time at my disposal. So keep reading and reviewing!

Chapter 7

Vaughn sat in the warehouse, phone in hand. He had just finished making the call to his new agent, Diane Patterson, and it felt like the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. No longer was he to use the code Joey's Pizza, but Ruth's Bakery. Diane was an undercover agent within the SD-3 cell whose previous handler had resigned.

Her mission required her to steal a crystal that Rambaldi had mentioned in several of his documents but without specifics. Neither SD-3 nor the CIA knew what the crystal looked like, or even if it was located at the mission site in Rome. Diane's mission was to go to Rome and try and locate the crystal. If she was unsuccessful in locating it, her mission was to come up with a lead for SD-3 to follow up on. 

Vaughn sat up on his normal spot among the crates. The warehouse seemed empty some how. Maybe because he knew she wasn't coming. It used to be the emptiness that kept him company till Sydney would arrive, but now that's all that it was, emptiness. Vaughn waited as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. In a few seconds he would be able to see her face, his instincts told him excitedly. But then he stopped as reality kicked in again. He would see Diane's face, not Sydney's. 

"Hi," Diane greeted him as she came around the corner. 

"Hi," Vaughn said formally looking her up and down. She looked just like her picture. She had straight jet-black hair and brown eyes. Her features were perfect in their Asian way, with lively light colored skin that contained not a single blemish. She wore a simple black dress suite with a skirt that fell to her knees but that still showed off her long muscular legs. She was beautiful.

"My name is Agent Michael Vaughn, and I'll be you're new handler," he introduced.

"I'm sure you already know about me," Diane said gesturing to her file as she stuck out her hand for Vaughn to shake. 

"Yes, very impressive work," Vaughn said, trying to make small talk, even though he wanted the meeting to be over as soon as possible. It wasn't that he didn't like the girl, he just didn't want to be there anymore.

"Well?" Diane asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well what?" Vaughn asked looking confused.

"My counter mission?" She suggested with a laugh.

"Right," Vaughn said. "Basically, if you obtain the crystal you're to put it in a small paper bag and leave it in your hotel trashcan. A CIA agent will pick it up disguised as Room Service and deliver it to one of our tech guys. They will analyze it quickly and make a copy of its obvious features for your to give to SD-6, I mean SD-3," Vaughn said correcting himself. He looked at Diane to see her reaction to his blunder, but she just kept nodding and smiling at him.

"And if I don't find it?" Diane asked.

"Go ahead and give the intel to SD-3 and we'll make plans for what to do when you're sent on your next mission. Do you have any questions?" Vaughn asked, glad that the meeting was ending.

Diane looked at him carefully, and nodded. "I do have one. How'd you get to be my handler?"

Vaughn looked away, not really wanting to answer the question, so he didn't. "Do you have any questions about _the mission_?" He emphasized, knowing that he probably sounded rude, but he didn't care. He didn't want to talk about Sydney with a complete stranger. 

She looked slightly offended at his abruptness, but she put her hands up in surrender. "Okay, I won't ask. I don't have any questions about the mission," she said. "But just in case you're curious to why I asked, you look like crap."

The way she said it made him smile a little. "I know, I've gotten that a lot today." She waited a second hoping he was going to expand on it, but when he didn't she decided to end the meeting.

"Well, it was good meeting you Agent Vaughn," Diane said turning away, but not before looking back and saying, "And Agent Vaughn? I'm told I'm very easy to talk to. Just keep that in mind." With that she was gone.

Vaughn couldn't help but admire her a little bit. She actually seemed pretty carefree about her life style. Not to mention the fact that she was all too willing to offer her friendship to a stranger. He sighed, why couldn't things with Sydney been that easy? He had wanted an easy friendship that turned into something more. He had the friendship, he knew that, but what he wasn't allowed to give was that something more, and now he would never have that chance. 

* * *

Jack Bristow stared at the road with haggard eyes. He hadn't gotten more the four possibly five hours of sleep. He had not gone into work today at the CIA or SD-6. He wasn't ready. He had tossed and turned for hours upon hours just thinking of his short termed life with his daughter. He had reprimanded himself over and over for what he had put Sydney threw, secluding her from a normal life. To make matters worse, he didn't really feel like he knew his daughter at all, and that is what killed him. How much he could have discovered just by getting to know her, instead of keeping his distance until she joined SD-6. 

As upset as he was, Jack wasn't just driving. Though he had left the phone unplugged during his sleepless hours, a message had been left on his answering machine. A message saying that Irina Derevko refused to speak to the CIA until she had spoken with Jack Bristow. Jack knew what Irina wanted to talk about, and as much as Irina proved to be helping the CIA, Jack was still cautious of her devious ways. Maybe back when Irina had been Laura Bristow, Jack would have turned to her for support in such a situation as this, but not now. Jack did not want to talk to Irina about the dead daughter she had betrayed and hurt upon several occasions, but Kendall wanted him to. 

In most instances, Jack believed that Kendall would have denied Irina's request, but Kendall most likely thought it would be best for Jack to talk to someone about his emotions, even if it was Irina Derevko. Jack didn't really know what good would come about from talking to Irina, and in actuality he wasn't looking forward to finding out, but he decided to treat it like a mission. 

Jack parked his car in the park and got out. He walked across the campus that Sydney had tread upon so many times. The "homeless person" was in his usual spot, asleep, as it was three o'clock in the morning. Jack threw a coin into the cup that jarred the man awake as Jack continued to walk past him. The pay phone near the secret CIA entrance confirmed his clearance and he entered the office. Jack preferred to come now, while very few people were here. It made his mission much easier. 

He continued down the hallway to where Irina was being held prisoner. The three gates opened and Jack faced the window that looked upon the concrete walls, the single iron bed, and Irina Derevko. 

She apparently had been awake even before Jack had arrived for she was sitting on her bed and staring at the wall. She stood up and walked over to the window. 

"Hello, Jack," she said quietly. 

"Irina," he answered curtly. 

Irina watched him in her intimidating way. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine." Jack hated these formalities. "Look, lets cut the bullshit Irina, and tell me why you wanted to see me?"

"I wanted to know for sure," Irina said simply. Jack understood, and Irina fired off her questions.

"Blood type?"

"The same."

"Dental records."

"A match."

"Birth marks?"

"She had none, Irina. Neither does Sydney."

"Hair? Eyes? Face?" Irina asked.

"God damn it Irina it was her," Jack said frustrated. 

"I guess all I had to do was look into your eyes," Irina said doing just that. "You can hide most of your expressions Jack, but your love for Sydney is seen in your eyes quite plainly."

"Stop it," Jack said in a low voice. "I don't want to hear it, not from you."

"Look at me Jack," Irina demanded. "Look into my eyes, Jack." Jack refused. "Dammit Jack just look!" Jack looked up at her, and was surprised to see the same misery that Irina probably saw in his eyes in hers eyes too. 

"Sydney was my daughter too, Jack. To you I may seem like a merciless traitor who killed many people, betrayed her own country, her own husband," Irina said calmly, but the tears were showing. "Who was even able to shoot her own daughter, but even though to you there is no proof, I really loved Sydney, Jack. I did. You need to know that."

Jack looked at Irina whose tears streamed freely down her face on the other side of the window, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He couldn't stay in here any more. Seeing Irina Derevko cry was not easy. Just as it had not been easy to see Laura Bristow cry. Jack turned towards the gate, and waited for it to open. 

"I loved her, Jack. Is there any way--?" she asked as the gate opened. 

Jack shook his head. "No. She's dead, Irina."

Jack left the office the way he came in. Past the "homeless man" and to his car, where he opened the driver's door and sat, and let himself cry for the second time in two days.


	8. Midnight Intruder

Author's Comments: Special thanks to leigh who apparently is a slave to my story, lol. I know what's it's like to read a story that you can't put down for the end of the world. Trust me, many late nights. Anywayz, thanks for all who have kept reading and reviewing. I promised you all excitement in the 8th chapter, and I keep my promises so as Mario would say from N64's Mario Kart "Here we goooo!" 

Chapter 8

Arvin Sloane stood up in front of the Alliance of twelve and began explaining the situation. "As we've just been informed, we had no success in obtaining Rambaldi's crystal in Rome," Sloane began. "However, we have determined that the crystal could possibly be contained in an artifact previously acquired by one of my agents. Unfortunately we found that this agent was a double agent for the CIA. In that manner, we received a fake replica, while the CIA is currently in possession of the real artifact."

"Your plan of action is?" Asked the leader of the SD-4 cell.

"I believe that it would be in the best interest of the Alliance to send in one of our ground agents," Sloane said, referring to those loyal to the Alliance. 

The leader of the SD-1 cell spoke up. "Did you have a particular agent in mind for this mission? After all, you are thinking of infiltrating the CIA of all places."

"I think we should send in Agent 3471," Sloane suggested.

"No way!" proclaimed the SD-2 cell leader. "Agent 3471 is not only new but unpredictable."

"Be that at as it may, she is however a good agent and she knows the territory."

The SD-1 leader looked at the two of them. "We shall vote. All those in favor of allowing Agent 3471 to perform this mission, say 'aye.'" Seven leaders said aye. "All leaders who oppose say 'nay.'" Five leaders protested. "Very well, we shall allow Agent 3471 to accomplish this mission. Arvin, you are in charge to make sure this plan goes over smoothly." Arvin nodded, smiling at his victory. 

As soon as the meeting was over, Sloane headed down to the basement to talk to Agent 3471. He had the guard open the door, and he stepped inside. Agent 3471 was working at the jogging machine when he stepped in. She slowly reached over and turned off the machine. She stepped down and resumed the attention position.

"I've got a mission for you. I'll have your tools you'll need for the mission sent down after this meeting, but I thought it best to come down here and tell you what you're up against," Sloane said smiling. "Your mission is to obtain the Rambaldi crystal from the CIA," Sloane watched her flinch. 

"Permission to speak, Sir," Agent 3471 requested. 

"Permission denied." He continued on as if he hadn't been interrupted. "We believe that the crystal is contained in a watch you obtained last year. At that time we weren't aware of its use. You know of which one I'm referring?" Sloane asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Your tools will be delivered within the hour," Sloane said stepping to the door. "Oh, and please keep in mind that _all_ of your conversations are to be monitored along with your _exact_ locations," Sloane emphasized before closing the door.

* * *

Vaughn leaned back in his desk chair pondering on really anything that came to his mind. Diane had returned from Rome without the crystal saying that the crystal had been stolen. She had done some research and found that its thief of an owner had been Henry DeLime, a jeweler who had a shop in the outskirts of Rome. The shop had closed down mysteriously after a break-in, and DeLime and the crystal had mysteriously disappeared. 

The name had actually sounded familiar, but Vaughn couldn't determine why. He reached for his watch and looked at the time. It was midnight. Vaughn knew he should get home, but he didn't feel like going home to the dark empty house. He had already called his neighbor and asked them to feed and take Donovan out for a walk, so he didn't have to rush home. He rubbed his eyes and reached for his radio. The station that happened to come on was country, featuring Diamond Rio. He listened peacefully to the lyrics.

__

Every now and then,   
Soft as breath upon my skin,  
I feel you come back again,  
And it's like you haven't been,  
Gone a moment from my side.  
Like the tears were never cried;  
Like the hands of time are holding you and me. 

And with all my heart I'm sure,  
We're closer than we ever were.  
I don't have to hear or see,   
I've got all the proof I need.  
There are more than angels watching over me:  
I believe; Oh, I believe.

That when you die your life goes on:  
It doesn't end here when you're gone.  
Every soul is filled with light,  
It never ends and if I'm right,  
Our love can even reach across eternity:  
I believe; Oh, I believe.

Forever, you're a part of me.  
Forever, in the heart of me.  
I will hold you even longer if I can.  
Oh, the people who don't see the most,  
See that I believe in ghosts.  
If that makes me crazy, then I am,  
'Cause I believe.

The song stopped abruptly as the power went out within the whole building. Vaughn sat up abruptly. He waited a second for the back up generator to come into effect, but it didn't. Vaughn reached for his phone, when there was no dial tone; he reached for his gun. 

He headed down the CIA hallway somewhat blindly, not exactly knowing who or what he was looking for. He rounded each corner armed and ready. He made his way towards Irina Derevko's cell, thinking that it might possibly be an attempt to bust The Man out of jail. He passed the lab room and stopped dead. Someone was in there. He could hear it. He headed towards the keypad and entered the code. The door opened soundlessly. 

He saw someone dressed in all black with flowing blond hair. He pointed the gun at her as he released the safety. The girl heard it and turned around. He could see the gleam of a watch in her hand as she placed it in her pocket, but that wasn't what he was paying attention to. He looked carefully at her face. The hair was wrong, the eye color was wrong, but she looked exactly like her.

"Sydney?" he cried. The girl froze. Vaughn lowered his weapon, she walked over to him. He could see her eyes looked pained. "You're alive."

"Sydney Bristow is dead," she claimed just as she delivered a quick kick to disarm him, and a second that threw him against the wall. His head hit the wall with a thud and the world was black to his eyes.


	9. Pondering Acquisiton

Author's Comments: Thank you everyone for reviewing! I love hearing what you all have to say! It sounds repetitive, I know, but I figure I can sweet talk more reviews out of ya, lol! Anywayz, the exciting trilogy continues…

Chapter 9

Vaughn slowly came to consciousness with the help of his pounding headache. The light he saw threw his eyelids only made his head throb worse. 

"He's coming around!" Someone shouted. Vaughn blinked open his eyes to see Weiss swimming before him. As soon as the power had failed, everyone in the nearest vicinity of the agency had been alerted. By the time Weiss had arrived, the power had been completely restored. 

"You alright, buddy?" Weiss asked hovering anxiously.

"Everything except the excruciating pain in my head." Vaughn looked around quickly as the night's events came rushing back into his head. "Where is she? Where's Sydney?"

Weiss looked down at him more worried than ever. "Vaughn, Syd's dead. What are you talking about?" Syd's dead. That's exactly what the girl had said before she had knocked him out. Vaughn ignored Weiss's protests and stood up. CIA agents had swarmed the lab, testing it for everything under the sun.

"What was taken?" Vaughn asked, but already knowing. 

"The watch," Weiss said scratching his head. "Out of all the items, why would they take the watch?"

"DeLime," Vaughn said the realization hitting him. 

"Who?" Weiss asked. 

"Henry DeLime," Vaughn said. "Diane didn't find the crystal in Rome because it had been stolen by Sydney. DeLime must of hid the crystal in the Rambaldi watch. Shit, why didn't I think of this before?"

"Wow, take it easy there. You just took a mighty wallop to the head. Speaking of which? What happened?" Weiss asked realizing that he had yet to ask.

Vaughn told him about the power going out and the search, but when he got to the point of the girl, he had a hard time getting Weiss to believe it was Sydney.

"I'm telling you it was her. The hair and the eyes were different, but it was her," Vaughn insisted.

Weiss looked at Vaughn and asked the one question Vaughn didn't know the answer to. "Then why did she attack you Vaughn? Why was she even here?"

Vaughn bent his head down and put his hands into his pockets, only to look up in surprise. "What's this?" He asked removing the paper from his pocket. He opened the paper and read the words:

VIOLA USING HYMN

IRA MONA GRAVE NIGHT 39804 79801 (SAID 03436 BANANA SEE MORE NOT AGING EARN TIN) OINTMENT DECIDE ADVANCED

SOLO REAR YARD IMITATED NEMO TOW ALIGN TWEET ORANGES TRADE ANAL HAVE LIMP MAZE

SOY DEMON EASY

"What the hell does all that mean?" Weiss asked, reading the note over Vaughn's shoulder. 

"I'm not really sure," Vaughn said with a furrowed brow. Stuffing the note back in his pocket.

"You should go home," Weiss said. "Get some sleep." _Hopefully he will be able to recall who he really saw in the morning_, Weiss thought. 

"Yeah, you're right. I'll see you," Vaughn said making his way towards the door. 

"You need a ride?" Weiss asked his friend.

"No, I've got my car," Vaughn said. "Thanks, I'll see you in a few hours." 

Vaughn walked to his car more confused than ever. He knew it had to be Sydney. Everything looked exactly like her, but once again that question popped into his mind. Why did she attack him? And why did she steal from the CIA? Really, all that he could come up with is that she was forced to do it somehow. He pulled the note out of his pocket. He knew the handwriting was Sydney's, but what did it mean? It had to be some type of code. Sydney was trying to tell him something, but what? It looked like a completely random assortment of words. 

Vaughn stumbled back a he ran into his car. He reached for his keys and put them inside the lock, and started the car. He drove the whole way home thinking of the night's events. By the halfway point to his house, he had convinced himself that Sydney was being put up to it somehow, and he was determined to help her.

CIA HEADQUARTERS (6 HOURS LATER)

"I heard about the break-in," Jack Bristow said to Kendall. Actually that was only part of what he had heard. The other half was that it had been Sydney who had broken into the CIA office and stolen the Rambaldi artifact. He really didn't think it was true, after all, he had seen his daughter's body, and there was no way she was going anywhere fast. 

Kendall paused before continuing with the next part. "And you heard that the intruder was someone who looked very similar to your daughter?"

"Yes," Jack nodded. "What did you find?"

"The only thing we found is a piece of hair. Our lab guys are analyzing it now, and this," Kendall said walking Jack over to the security cameras. "There's only about five seconds of video tape that shows the intruder before she knocked out the power" Jack watched as the woman easily ran down the basement hallways as if she knew them all by heart. None of the cameras offered a very good view. She kept her face down and away from the cameras until the last two seconds when she finally looked up.

Jack stared. The likeliness was uncanny. The only thing that was different was the hair and the eyes. Otherwise, she was exactly the same. 

Kendall glanced at Jack before continuing. "We even analyzed the security camera photo into the computer and came up with a match. According to the computer, it's Sydney Bristow."

"I assure you, Sir, that my daughter is dead," Jack said somewhat shaken.

"You know about the note?" Kendall asked.

"Note?" Jack asked him.

"Agent Weiss claimed that after Agent Vaughn was attacked by the intruder, he found a note in pocket. Weiss claimed that it most likely was written in some sort of code."

"Agent Kendall!" The two men turned around to see a very angry looking Vaughn approaching them. "What is the meaning of this performance assessment for Sydney Bristow?" Jack looked up abruptly at Kendall.

Kendall, looking nothing but sure of himself confronted the two men. "I'm going to be frank to the two of you. We are going to look into the lead that last night's intruder was indeed just a woman who looked very similar to Agent Bristow. We're also going to look into the fact that Sydney Bristow may be alive, and like the prophecy said, traitor to the United States of America."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I just wanted to add that if anyone figures out the code in the note that the intruder wrote, not to say anything until Vaughn figures it out. Thanks!


	10. Calmness Before the Storm

Author's Comments: Thank you everyone for reviewing. In this chapter, things become worse for Agent 3471 and for Vaughn. Beware, and please don't hate me. 

Chapter 10

The word traitor hit Vaughn like a ton of bricks. It was something he hadn't even considered in Sydney's case. Jack Bristow voiced his protests before Vaughn even completed his thought.

"My daughter, Agent Kendall, would never, and I mean _never_, betray her country. She did after all, come to us when she found out that SD-6 was not a sub-unit of the CIA," Jack Bristow stated firmly. 

"Be that as it may, Agent Bristow, but we have a delicate situation to take in to account and I'm not letting any leads go unchecked," Kendall said.

"Fine, but at least take into account that we've already eliminated the chance that she was the one Rambaldi was talking about in the prophecy," Vaughn added. 

Kendall turned on him. "You two are the one's who eliminated that chance, and I'm not going to take Irina Derevko to Mt. Sebacio to prove you wrong."

Vaughn looked at Kendall with silent anger. Jack Bristow remained silent as well. 

"Agent Vaughn, I expect that assessment to be completely filled out. I want to know of anything, and I mean anything that was unusual about Bristow. If you come back with nothing, I'll get someone else to look over her papers. I'm offering you this chance Agent Vaughn, take advantage of my generosity." Kendall paused. "Now, back to the attack. Do you have the note, Agent Vaughn?"

Vaughn grudgingly produced the note from his pocket and handed it over. Kendall opened it and read its contents. "Any idea what it means?" Vaughn shook his head. "Work on deciphering the note too. I want the assessment done by the end of the week."

As soon as Kendall was done, Jack reached over for the note. "Any ideas?" Vaughn asked Jack after reading it over. 

"No, not yet," Jack answered distantly. He looked like he was debating over something. "I'm going to ask Derevko about it," he told Vaughn finally. "Maybe she'll have a suggestion."

Vaughn let a few minutes pass before them before asking his next question. "Do you think that Sydney's alive?"

Jack looked at Vaughn. "I really don't know." He looked back down at the note. "I'll give this back to you as soon as I'm done."

"Fine," Vaughn said, not looking forward to looking threw all of Sydney's old files to find evidence that she had betrayed the CIA. Jack gave a slight nod and headed down the hallway to visit Irina Derevko. 

He waited as the gates rose once again, and headed straight for the window. Irina approached him.

"What's going on around here?" Irina asked immediately. 

"Someone broke in last night a stole a Rambaldi artifact," Jack stated emotionless. "They think it was Sydney."

"Sydney?" Irina asked for confirmation.

"The likeness between her and the intruder are unbelievable," Jack stated. 

Irina smiled to herself. "That's my girl." Jack's face-hardened.

"You think she's alive?" Jack asked. 

Irina shrugged. "What's a mother to hope? I faked my death, Sydney could have done the same."

"Why would Sydney fake her death?" Jack inquired. Irina smiled at the line of questioning. 

"You're pumping me for information," Irina stated. 

"I'm merely curious. You seem to act as if you figured this was going on all along," Jack said matter-of-factly.

"Why'd you come, Jack?" Irina asked, a smile still on her face. 

"I was wondering if you knew what this meant," Jack said, putting the intruder's note through the slot made in the window. Irina picked it up and read it carefully. 

"Off hand, no, I don't. You want me to work on it?" Irina asked him. 

Jack shook his head. "No, that's alright. I just wanted your intake on it." Irina gave a slight nod and turned her attention back to the note. 

"On a quick glance, I'd say, black ball-point pen, feminine writer, who is using some sort of system within the words to relay a message," Irina said. "It doesn't seem to me that the words themselves have a specific meaning." Irina passed the note back threw the slot, and Jack took it back into his possession. 

"Thanks for trying," Jack said as he turned away.

"Jack," Irina said stopping him. "You said before that it wasn't possible that Sydney could be alive. Now---"

"I don't know Irina," Jack said and left with the clanging of the three metal gates. 

Jack headed back to the offices to give the note back to Vaughn. Irina's hypothesis about Sydney faking her death was a little unnerving. It would seem that if that was the case, then the Prophecy would be true. Jack shook his head to clear his mind. He didn't believe that Sydney would purposely put them all threw that, and then betray her country. 

"Thanks," Jack said throwing the note on Vaughn's desk and preparing to walk away. 

Vaughn looked up from a swarm of papers. "Wait, did Derevko have any input on it?" 

"She thinks that the words don't mean anything. That there is some sort of system within the words that the intruder was using to convey a message." Vaughn nodded.

"Thanks. I'll work on it as soon as I finish this assessment."

"Right," Jack said heading towards his desk. Vaughn glanced back at the papers in front of him. Vaughn didn't know exactly what Kendall hoped to find. There was nothing suspicious about any of Sydney's missions. He kept a list of several missions that weren't successful, but they weren't terminal losses. 

He'd even come across the case when he had felt that Sydney was hiding something. The case in which Weiss had taken it in his own hands to report, but nothing came about it. 

"Vaughn!" Weiss called approaching him a manila folder in hand. "Your agent's going out again."

Vaughn nodded absent-mindedly. "Just set it on my desk. I'll call her in a minute."

"Vaughn?" Weiss inquired.

"I'm fine Weiss," Vaughn said sternly. 

"Fine, see you later." Weiss said walking away so he wouldn't feel the wrath of his friend's foul mood. 

Vaughn began to sort threw Sydney's papers again and put them away. He had another day to work on them before Kendall needed them. He looked at his watch, it was only noon. He decided to go have lunch and then call his agent. He grabbed his coat and the manila folder and headed to a small café of which he was a regular. 

He ordered a sandwich and tea, and pulled open the folder to find out what her mission was and what the CIA wanted her to do in response. Apparently she was going to Tennessee to retrieve a video surveillance tape that the SD cells could use for blackmail on some high country officials. The counter mission was not to give SD-3 the tape. Whatever the tape actually contained, the CIA did not want SD-3 getting their hands on it. They would give her a different surveillance tape that would show SD-3 absolutely nothing. 

Vaughn sighed and reached for his tea. He was tired, but not really hungry. He pushed his turkey sandwich away and threw some money on the table. Things were so complicated now. Where things going to work out the way he wanted? He didn't know, and he was scared to find out. 

* * *

"Ever since your situation with your two agents, Arvin, we've been keeping an eye out," the SD-3 leader said over the phone. "And we've found a mole."

"You've alerted Security Section?" Sloane inquired. 

"Yes, but they're on hold, waiting for my orders. The problem is we've already planned for the mission in Tennessee to retrieve the tapes."

Sloane sat back in his chair. "Have your mole continue with the mission. I'll send an agent out to bring back the tapes, and take care of your mole. It will look like an accident."

"Very good, Arvin. I like the way you think." Sloane put the phone down and smiled to himself. 3471 had proved her worthiness in the last mission. This mission seemed perfect to put her to the test again. 


	11. The Prophet

Author's Comments: I'm glad to hear so many enthusiastic reviews about the code. Having all of you figure it out before Vaughn really makes him seem kinda of slow, don't it? Don't worry, though, he'll figure it out, but not in this chapter. Speaking of this chapter, I'm sorry to bring back the monotonous story line of the Prophecy, but it seems to fit in here nicely. Anywayz, read on and don't hate me for what's going to happen. Keep reading and reviewing! 

Chapter 11

"Is that it?" Diane asked, watching him with those brown eyes in their second meeting ever.

"Yep," Vaughn answered. "You have any questions?"

"About the mission?" Diane added slyly. 

Vaughn couldn't help but grin at Diane's coy manner. "About the mission," Vaughn confirmed. 

"Nope," Diane said, "but I do have a question for you."

Vaughn knew he was cornered. What was he going to do? Try and run out on someone who could kick his ass five times before he hit the ground? Unlikely. "Shoot."

"What happened to Sydney Bristow?" Vaughn looked at her stunned. "You're not the only one who can do research," Diane said to his reaction. But she watched as his expression became pained, and instantly regretted asking the question.

"I'm sorry," Diane said. "You don't have to answer it if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay," Vaughn insisted taking a deep breath. "It's just complicated. And to answer you honestly, I don't know what happened to her."

Diane looked at him confused. "Want to talk?" She asked.

Vaughn shook his head and pointed to his watch. "You don't have the time. You're leaving in five hours."

"Alright," Diane said surrendering. "But my offer stands open."

"Thanks, Diane, really," Vaughn insisted.

"Alright," Diane said picking up her things. "Till next time, Agent Vaughn."

"Hey, Diane," Vaughn said before she turned to leave. "Good luck."

She gave him a warm smile. "Thanks."

HENDERSON, TENNESSEE

Diane's SD-3 partner was Agent Thomas Barker. He remained outside as a getaway vehicle for Diane as soon as she picked up the video. Diane was currently located in the parking garage of a computer research center. The building was subtle in its location, and speaking that it was seven o'clock at night, most of the employees had gone home.

"Barker, I'm going radio silent until I need you," Diane said to her partner.

"Copy that, Diane, over and out." Diane looked around the garage, before continuing with her CIA codename.

"Base this is Diver, how's it lookin'?" Diane asked.

"Great Diver," Vaughn said in response. "Any sign of the guy?"

"Nope," Diane said looking around again. Meanwhile she straightened out her business suite. She had decided against the dress in case things got ugly. 

"You got the time?" A man in his mid-thirties asked approaching her from the parking garage exit of the building. "My watch stopped working."

"Four minutes past," Diane answered following SD-3 protocol. 

He nodded and pulled a tape out of his coat. "Tape as requested," he said under his breath. "Have a good day, miss," he said aloud. She took the tape and placed it in her coat. The two separated heading in opposite directions. 

"Mission complete," Diane whispered to Vaughn. 

"Good work," Vaughn said threw the earpiece. 

Diane continued towards the exit, but was suddenly stopped by the appearance of a woman in black. Her face was covered by a ski mask, and she was armed. 

"Give me the tape!" The woman demanded. In response Diane kicked the weapon out of the woman's hands and delivered a quick kick to her stomach. The masked woman dodged it easily, having concentrated on the agent in front of her and not the location of the weapon. 

The two were immediately drawn into combat, as Vaughn watched on in horror._ It can't be her. It can't be_, Vaughn prayed silently as he looked into the attacker's blue eyes.

"Diane! Get out of there!" Vaughn said. _What was she doing?_

Diane had just delivered a kick around the masked person's ankles, and she fell, landing in range of the weapon. She grabbed for it and stood up before Diane even had a chance. The masked woman aimed and fired. Diane fell in an instant.

The camera lay still facing the ceiling. The murderer walked up to the body and removed her mask. Vaughn's jaw dropped. 

"Sydney," he whispered. "How could you?" A second later, her face had disappeared from the view of the camera, tape in hand. 

Agent 3471 continued to the exit and turned on her intercom. "I've got the tape. You can pick me up." The sleek black van pulled around the corner and opened its sliding door. Agent Thomas Barker helped her in. 

He looked at the building in disgust as if the building had betrayed him, and not the agent that lay dead in the parking lot. Agent 3471 turned away. She didn't know who the woman was that she just killed, all she knew was that she was an agent of SD-3 and that it had felt good to take her down. 

* * *

Vaughn sat still in his seat, as agents around him left, some to get Kendall, some to cry. He was still in disbelief. He had just witnessed Sydney Bristow kill another CIA agent, something he knew she would never do. _Maybe she didn't know she was a CIA agent,_ Vaughn hoped. _Then what was she doing there?_ A little voice contradicted. 

Vaughn leaned forward removing his headphones and placing his head in his hands. _What's going on, Sydney?_ He mind was asking. _Why are you betraying us?_ Vaughn paused, realizing what he was thinking. "No," he said aloud shaking his head. "The Prophecy was wrong!" Vaughn said. But in the lonely room there was no one to contradict him. "Sydney," he said, staring at the now black screen. "Tell me the Prophecy was wrong." There was only silence.


	12. The Meeting

Author's Comments: Keep reading and reviewing! Oh, and this is where all you spies get to check your answers for the code. One more thing, I hate to leave the story like this but I might not be able to add on for a few days. School's back in session (ugh) and I've got a long week in front of me, but I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. 

Chapter 12

An hour later, Kendall called a meeting and half the office was working their way into the conference room. Vaughn walked in looking dismal, while Jack was confused. Five minutes later, every one was seated and Kendall began the meeting. 

"For those of you who haven't already heard, we lost a valuable asset today," Kendall announced somberly. "Agent Diane Patterson was mercilessly shot during a mission for the CIA." Kendall stopped a moment to let this information sink in. 

"She was killed by this woman," Kendall said as every one turned to their screens. Some of the agents gasped in recognition, others waited for Kendall to continue. "As many of you know, Agent Sydney Bristow was shot and killed on her mission in Nevada, however, this women, as some of you can tell, has a great resemblance to Sydney.

"At this time, we believe that the women killed last week in Nevada was not Sydney Bristow and that the women in front of you is." 

Jack Bristow stood up angrily in protest. "You have nothing to base that on. The CIA's security scan will give you the closest resemblance in the database, i.e. Sydney."

"Jack please sit down," Kendall said calmly. "The episode to which Agent Bristow is referring is the break-in that occurred last night. The same woman who shot Agent Patterson also broke into the CIA and stole the Rambaldi watch and crystal. The CIA's security camera's ran the face threw the database and identified the intruder as Sydney Bristow." Kendall turned back to Jack. "Agent Bristow is right, however our belief that this agent is Sydney Bristow is not solely based on the security footage. Our forensics team found hair, blond in color, at the seen of the break-in. After anaylzing it, it was discovered that its owner had dyed it." Vaughn looked up at this information.

"It was determined that the natural color was brown. They were also able to analyze it for DNA and it too pointed at Sydney Bristow." Vaughn looked across the table at Jack who looked as stunned as he did. 

"This meeting was called to inform all agents and handlers that Sydney Bristow has betrayed the CIA. Any information or sightings of Agent Bristow are to be reported directly to me," Kendall informed. 

"That's not fair," Vaughn said, angry at the accusations. "We may not know the whole story."

Kendall looked at Vaughn with dismay. "Agent Vaughn, I'll speak with you after the meeting." He turned his attention back to the group. "Meeting dismissed." Agent after agent filed out of the room, leaving Kendall and Vaughn alone.

"Agent Vaughn, the evidence is all here. Agent Bristow stole from the CIA and killed a CIA agent, your agent I might add. Any information we obtain from our now alerted field agents will either prove or dispute my theory. Now I'm asking you Agent Vaughn, do you have hard evidence that disagrees with my theory?" Kendall asked.

Vaughn looked down at the ground. "No, Sir, but Sydney Bristow has been a loyal---" Vaughn started but Kendall waved him away.

"I'm aware of Agent Bristow's credentials. Give me evidence that Sydney is being controlled by some outside force, and we'll do whatever we can to get her out of that situation. But right now, since you have no evidence, we're going with the facts." Kendall stopped. "I still expect that assessment on my desk before you leave tomorrow. That's all Agent Vaughn."

Vaughn walked out of the room more hurt and angry than ever. His arguments in Sydney's behalf were weak to his own ears. He knew everything Kendall was saying was true, but he didn't want to believe it. He didn't have any resources to back up his claims. Vaughn walked to his desk and plopped down in his chair. 

He was also greatly upset over Diane's death. She was a wonderful person. She was enthusiastic about her job, and extremely caring to other people's feelings. He may have only been her handler for a week, but he could tell from her file that she was an incredible agent. It just wasn't fair. Diane, Sydney, none of it was fair. 

Vaughn reached for Sydney's files once again, more adamant than ever to prove Kendall wrong. He opened his desk searching for a pen and found the note. He took it out and began working on it. This had to be the evidence that he needed to prove Sydney's innocence. 

It took a half an hour of staring at the note, before Vaughn recognized a pattern. Nothing was similar about the words or any letter within the words except the first and last letter of ever word. He took his pen and wrote down the first and last letter of every word in the note on an already pen filled piece of paper. He looked at the result:

VA UG HN

IA MA GE NT 34 71 (SD 06 BA SE ME NT AG EN TN) OT DE AD

SO RR YD ID NO TW AN TT OS TE AL HE LP ME

SY DN EY

Vaughn looked at this carefully trying to make sense of the words.

VAUGHN

I AM AGENT 3471 (SD 6 BASEMENT AGENT) NOT DEAD

SORRY DID NOT WANT TO STEAL HELP ME

SYDNEY

Vaughn read the words over several times. This was the evidence he needed, wasn't it? After all, Sydney wrote that she didn't want to steal, and was actually requesting help. The only thing that Vaughn could make sense of was the part that said she was Agent 3471, a SD-6 basement agent. What did that mean? 

Vaughn had to do more research before he could give this note to Kendall. He needed to find out what a basement agent was, otherwise Kendall would see the note as an admittance of guilt. He looked through the rest of Sydney's papers filling out the assessment, and looking to see if Sydney had mentioned anything about basement agents anywhere. 

The search took him well into the evening, without any mention to what a basement agent was. He even looked through the CIA database of documents that other agents had obtained during their mission, and still he couldn't find any information. He had wished that Sydney had been more specific in her note. God did he miss her. 

Vaughn leaned back in his chair trying to think of any reference Sydney may have made to basement agents in conversation but he couldn't even recall one time they had been mentioned. Vaughn closed his eyes in thought, and before he knew it he fell asleep. 

"Vaughn? Wake up, man." Vaughn opened his eyes to see Weiss standing in front him. "Geez, were you here all night?" Weiss asked.

Vaughn blinked and yawned. "Depends, what time is it?" 

"Seven o'clock, Friday March fourth," Weiss said. "What were you doing here all night?"

Vaughn leaned forward in his chair remembering the note. "I cracked the code," Vaughn said, handing over the note's translation. Weiss read it and looked up at Vaughn. 

"What's a SD-6 basement agent?" Weiss asked. 

Vaughn rubbed his eyes. "I don't know, that's what I was trying to figure out."

"You got to show this to Kendall," Weiss said, handing the note back.

"What good will it do until I know what the note is referring to?" Vaughn argued.

Weiss looked at Vaughn carefully. "You mean until you can use it to your advantage."

"Sydney is not a traitor. If this is the only evidence that is going to present itself to me in Sydney's behalf, then I'm not going to lose it," Vaughn said determinedly. 

"Fine, but you better find out quick. Kendall was serious about that meeting yesterday. Every CIA field agent and handler is on alert for her. If Kendall gets a hold of her before you get something to prove her innocence, it's unlikely that you'll see her for a long while." Vaughn looked at the note. 

"Will you help me research this?" Vaughn asked hopefully.

Weiss looked around and then nodded. "Sure, just write me a copy of the note, and I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Thanks," Vaughn said.

"Do me a favor though, Vaughn, go home a take a shower." Vaughn smiled but was about to protest. "Don't worry about the note. I'll get started on it, and it will be like you never even left."

"You're a good friend, Weiss," Vaughn said as he got his coat. 

"I know," Weiss answered.

* * *

Vaughn was just driving back from his house when his cell phone rang. He reached for the phone on the seat to him and pushed the talk button. 

"Vaughn," he answered.

"Get your ass down here," he heard Weiss whisper over the phone.

Vaughn was overcome with fear. "What's going on?"

"One of our field agents was leaving for a mission and saw Sydney getting off a plane at the Los Angeles airport. He's sending out a team to capture her," Weiss said quickly. 

"Dammit," Vaughn cursed as his foot unconsciously increased its pressure on the gas pedal. "Any lead on the note?"

"None. I even asked Jack about it. He's going to go into SD-6 today and try and hack into the system to find information some information. But Sloane's never mentioned anything about basement agents to him."

"Good work, I'll be there as soon as I can," Vaughn said hanging up. He threw his phone down against the seat. Kendall seemed to love making his job more difficult.


	13. Confessions and Setbacks

Author's Comments: Sorry it's been such a long time since I added on, but what can I say, school isn't a time saver. But I had time to finish this chapter because we have yet another snow day! YEA! Anywayz, to answer some of the questions I've come about in the reviews. Yes, I did make up the code. I don't know how I thought of it, but the mind does weird things a midnight when I wrote it. And yes, I did see last Sunday's Alias. It is kinda of scary that Sloane allowed the CIA to obtain the Rambaldi device that is so destructive. Back to the story though, please keep reading and reviewing! Oh, and thanks jen for that clarification. I always mess those up, as you obviously noted. Now read!

Chapter 13

Vaughn rushed into the office within minutes of the call. He walked swiftly to Weiss. 

"Where's Kendall?" Vaughn asked him. 

"The tech room," Weiss replied. Vaughn headed to his desk to retrieve the note and then goes into the tech room. He burst the door open and headed straight for Kendall.

"Read this," Vaughn said pushing the note into Kendall's line of sight.

"Agent Vaughn---" Kendall threatened.

"Read it!" Kendall took the note out of his hands and read it.

"I figured out the code. This proves that Sydney is innocent. She admits that someone put her up to stealing the crystal and she asking for help," Vaughn insisted.

Kendall handed the note back to Vaughn and turned back to the airport video footage. "All the more reason to bring Bristow in." 

"It could--" Vaughn started.

"Agent Vaughn, the note you offer in behalf of Agent Bristow isn't substantial enough evidence. This goes far beyond the theft of the crystal. Agent Bristow murdered an agent of the CIA. That note," Kendall said gesturing to the paper in Vaughn's hand, "could be fake. A ruse. Can you even tell me what a basement agent is?" Vaughn was quiet. "We are going to bring Agent Bristow in and find out what the hell is going on, understand?"

"Yes, Sir," Vaughn said softly.

"Good. Is the assessment done?" Kendall asked.

"Almost," Vaughn lied. 

"Finish it. I want any and all accessible background information on Agent Bristow before she is brought in." Vaughn nodded and headed for the door. He walked to his chair and sat down, throwing the note onto his desk.

He had purposely lied so that he didn't have to watch them try and catch Sydney. Vaughn felt that something more was going on then met the eye, and knowing Sloane, there probably was. He didn't understand how the CIA would benefit from catching Sydney. Even though the idea of having Sydney back, safe, was a relief, there had to be a reason why she had yet to come forward. 

The whole matter was confusing really. First Sydney had supposedly died, but then appears a week later to steal a Rambaldi artifact from the CIA. She knocks out Vaughn, but leaves him a note requesting the CIA's help. She later interferes with a SD-3 mission, killing a CIA agent in the process. Maybe that was the most confusing element of all. If Sydney was working for SD-6, why did she shoot a SD-3 agent?

Vaughn hated to take that situation realistically because the only answer he could come up with was that Sydney or SD-3 knew that Diane was a CIA agent and that meant that the shooting was intentional. Vaughn didn't want to believe that Sydney's loyalty to the CIA was questionable. In the logical case that Sydney knew whom she was shooting was the enemy, then the note Sydney wrote would be just as Kendall said, a ruse. 

Vaughn looked up as Weiss approached him ten minutes later. 

"Any report from Jack Bristow yet?" Vaughn asked him.

Weiss shook his head and turned grim. "Vaughn, they got her." Vaughn nodded slowly and sadly.

"When?" He dared himself to ask.

"Just a few minutes ago. Surrounded her when she tried to leave the airport. She didn't have a chance," Weiss answered somberly. 

"How long till they arrive?"

"Twenty minutes, half hour at most," Weiss stated. 

"Thanks for telling me." Weiss gave him a small smile while wondering in his head if informing Vaughn had been the right thing to do. Weiss turned away and walked into the bustling activity of the hallways. 

Seconds later, Kendall approached him, demanding to see Sydney's assessment. Vaughn reached into his desk drawer and pulled it out. Kendall was about to walk away when Vaughn spoke up.

"Where are you taking her?" Vaughn asked.

Kendall gave Vaughn a hard look. "Don't even think that I'm going to even let you watch the interrogation."

Vaughn decided to take Kendall's accusation to the next level. "I don't want to watch the interrogation. I want to talk to her."

"No way!" Kendall stated firmly. 

"Sydney is more likely to talk to me than she is to you. I am after all, her handler," Vaughn said off handedly.

Kendall's eyes narrowed. "Fine. I'll give you one hour. No more. If I feel that your approach to the situation is compromised or inefficient, it's my turn." With that Kendall turned and walked away.

Vaughn smiled meekly to himself. The whole realization of the situation had kind of left him numb and cold. His heart told him to believe, but his instincts said look at the evidence. He knew that when he got into the room with Sydney Bristow, he couldn't allow either emotion on his face. The truth being not because he didn't want to show his feelings, but because Kendall was looking for any reason to keep him from seeing Sydney and Sydney would be looking for any sign of mistrust. He believed that if Sydney could see his doubts, she would close up refusing to tell him anything. 

"Agent Vaughn!" Kendall called to him. "Agent Bristow is here." He started walking down the nearest hallway, and Vaughn took a deep breath and followed. Kendall finally stopped in front of the interrogation room. Its setup wasn't unlike that of a police station with its cement walls, iron table, one-way mirror, and the two chairs that were located at either end of the table. 

Vaughn walked up to the one-way mirror and could see them strapping Sydney down to a chair meant for criminals. Her blonde hair hung limply around her shoulders and her eyes were slightly shadowed from lack of sleep. The two guards stepped out, and Sydney was left alone. 

Kendall turned towards him glancing at his watch. "Your hour starts now, Agent Vaughn." Vaughn nodded and headed for the door. He opened it and stepped in. 

Sydney looked up and watched him as he sat. Her expression however remained emotionless. 

"Syd, do you know why you're here?" Vaughn asked her gently. She didn't answer. Vaughn thought for a second. "Do you want me to call you Sydney or Agent 3471?" Sydney in turn glared at Vaughn but said nothing. "Do you want to tell me why you stole the Rambaldi crystal?" Again nothing. Vaughn hated sounding mean and up front, but he needed to get some response from her so Kendall wouldn't kick him out. 

"Do you want to tell me why you killed a CIA agent in Tennessee?" Sydney froze and looked up. 

"CIA?" she asked quietly, fear in her eyes. 

"Yes. She was a CIA agent named Diane Patterson," Vaughn said, happy to get a response. He tried to keep his gaze focused in those unfamiliar blue eyes, but it was hard. They were more beautiful when they were brown, but whether or not they were familiar, he could still read them like a book. The moment he had said that the woman was CIA, he had saw fear, and now pain. 

"Untie my hands," she requested, looking directly into Vaughn's eyes. 

Vaughn watched her carefully. He knew that Kendall wouldn't approve, but he felt that by doing as she requested, she might actually tell him something. He stood up and approached her, and was about to bend down to untie her hand when Kendall burst into the room.

"Agent Vaughn, get your ass out here!" Kendall yelled. Vaughn looked at Sydney and then headed for the door. Kendall slammed it shut the moment he was outside.

"What in the hell do you think you were doing?" Kendall asked.

"I believe that she could tell us more if her hands were untied," Vaughn said somewhat calmly.

Kendall looked at him as if he was crazy. "There isn't anything she could tell us with her hand tied that she can't tell us with her hands untied."

"Give it a chance," Vaughn said angrily. "Agent Bristow knows she can't get anywhere with her hands untied. She is still strapped to the chair. We may be able to answer all our questions if we just bow down to this one request."

Kendall looked down at Agent Vaughn. "Fine," he said grudgingly. "But if the slightest thing goes wrong in there, you'll be out of there so fast that you won't even know what hit you."

"Thank you," Vaughn said as he stepped back into the room. He walked over to the chair and untied her hands. She rubbed her wrists for a second and then grabbed Vaughn by the shirt with one hand as the other searched his pockets. She let go however when she found a pen. Vaughn looked at her confused as she uncapped the pen quickly and wrote something on her arm. 

She threw the pen on the table when she was done and gestured him to come over. He stayed a slight distance and read the message:

Do you have paper?

Vaughn nodded. "Just a sec." He ran to the door and asked the guard to get some paper. 

"What's going on in there, Vaughn?" Kendall asked.

"She wants paper," Vaughn said, before closing the door so as not to listen to Kendall's protests. Sydney was sitting patiently facing forward. Pen still on the table. The guard entered in seconds later with paper. He took the paper and put it in front of Sydney. She picked up the pen and began writing, and Vaughn began reading. 

Vaughn,

I have requested paper and pen because everything I say is being recorded by SD-6. A transmitter was placed in my neck to record my words and my locations, so SD-6 knows I am here. It was SD-6 who faked my death. The woman who was shot was made up to look like me. She was actually an SD-6 agent who was paid to deliver the folder of which she had no idea of its contents. When she was shot, she was taken to the hospital where doctors on the SD payroll faked all identification. The blood type, identification markings, everything was faked to correspond to my identity. This was all done so the SD-cells could use me as a "basement agent." A basement agent is located on the "BB" floor of SD-6. It can only be accessed through an elevator keycard of which Sloane is the only one at this point of who I know possesses one. These agents are of the best in the business and are paid off by the SD-cells and given whatever they wish. All of these agents are aware that they are working for the Alliance and not the CIA. These people do not exist a people in the world. They are given numbers and treated as soldiers. My silence and loyalty to the Alliance was forced. Sloane made me perform his missions assuring me that Francie and Will would not be hurt if I fulfilled my duties correctly. Slight changes were made to change my physical features and I was ordered to infiltrate the CIA and steal the Rambaldi crystal due to my knowledge of the CIA facility. 

Sydney stopped a moment and looked at Vaughn before continuing. 

As I said, my conversations were being recorded by SD-6 so to give away my identity to you that night would have been a big mistake. I didn't want to hurt you, but I knew you would try and stop me from leaving, and I couldn't allow that to happen. I'm sorry. The mission in Tennessee was simply to obtain the tape because the agent who was originally supposed to pick up the tape was a traitor. I knew nothing else. I didn't know she was CIA. 

Just then, Agent Kendall came in. "We've got a problem," he said. "I don't know what you've just told to Agent Vaughn, Agent Bristow, but we just got a call from Sloane. He wants Agent Bristow back in his custody with the hour."

"No way!" Agent Vaughn protested. "We can't do that."

"It's a little more complicated then that Agent Vaughn," Kendall said. He turned to Sydney as he spoke. "Unfortunately Sloane knows that Jack is a double agent. He said that if Sydney isn't back in his custody within the hour, Jack Bristow will be killed."


	14. For the Love of Love

Author's Note: Thanks everyone for the reviews! Luckily, today was another snow day. You gotta love the county, giving us snow days all the time. Sorry it took me awhile to get this up. I had to think exactly what I wanted to happen. My story is winding down now. There are a few more twists and turns left, however, so don't be disappointed yet! Keep reading and reviewing!

Chapter 14

Sydney looked at Kendall with fear in her eyes. Vaughn was now silent, and both were watching Sydney. 

"We'll make the trade," Sydney said determinedly.

"Syd,--" Vaughn started.

"I was sworn into this job, maybe not willingly, but it doesn't matter. My father is enough of a reason to go back." Vaughn could see the sadness in her eyes, but he also knew she wasn't about to change her mind.

"We have no guarantee that Sloane will hold true to this bargain," Kendall said. He then realized that the agent before him was still under suspicion for treason. "What exactly do we know about Agent Bristow's behavior?" Vaughn took the paper that Sydney had written on and handed it to Kendall. He read it. "Any chance the transmitter can be removed?" Kendall asked after he had read it. 

"No," Sydney said simply. Kendall understood. Most likely it had some type of mechanism that would cause it to explode.

"We can infiltrate the facility and get Jack out of there," Vaughn suggested.

Kendall shook his head. "That would rise alerts in all other SD-cells which may result in them taking this thing underground. We can't risk that."

"Make the trade," Sydney said. "It's the only way."

"We can't!" Vaughn insisted. "The CIA doesn't negotiate with terrorists."

"There's no way I can escape them!" Sydney cried, frustrated. "Just do it!"

The three of them were silent. Sydney sighed. "What were the terms?"

"We enter that shipping warehouse on Fadell Street. The exchange is made there," Kendall explained.

"How long has it been?" Sydney asked. 

"Half an hour," Kendall said.

"Get a vehicle assembled," Sydney said taking charge. "We should go soon." Neither Kendall nor Vaughn protested. Kendall left the room to take care of the accommodations. 

Vaughn stood there just watching Sydney, as if memorizing every little detail. He bent down and untied her from the chair. They stood there looking at each other.

"I don't want you to go," Vaughn whispered.

Sydney approached him slowly. She took her hand and placed it on her cheek. He closed his eyes keeping his cheek close to her hand.

"I don't want to go either," Sydney whispered back. "But if I'm the only thing that can guarantee my father's safety, then I'm going to go."

Vaughn kept his eyes closed, as Sydney slowly lowered her lips to his. Vaughn's arm slid around her waist, the other hand became tangled in her blonde hair. Sydney's hand had left his cheek and both arms were wrapped around Vaughn's neck in a tight embrace. Neither wanted to pull away, but when it came time to get air, they remained close, their foreheads touching each other.

"I don't want it all to end," Vaughn said miserably. 

Sydney looked away and placed her head on his shoulder. "Me either. Not when it has just begun."

"You'll come back to us," Vaughn said with determination. "I'll find a way."

Sydney pulled away. "The only way for that to happen is to bring down all the SD-cells. Alliance leaders are taking a double glance at all field agents. You must realize that I may not come back."

"Sydney, don't--" Vaughn protested.

Sydney had to hold her tongue from saying his name. The last thing she wanted was another person for her to worry about anytime she didn't satisfy Sloane. "It's true! Face it, there are twelve facilities to take down, and we are no where near taking even one down. As much as I want to stay and help the CIA, I can't." Sydney suddenly reaches for the pen again, and writes: Please put Francie and Will in the WPP.

Vaughn nods just as Kendall enters the room once again. "We're ready." Sydney heads to the door and Vaughn follows. Sydney looks around at the familiar building. People are working at their desks frantically to meet deadlines, sounds of phones ringing are coming from every direction, and all of them are working happily for their country. Something she could no longer do. 

Sydney remembered all the times she had stepped into the building. Whether it be for a counter mission, a news update, or just to talk to Vaughn, her father, and even her mother. That was another thought that sunk her into a deeper depression. She would no longer see her mother any more. She was already forced away from her father, Vaughn, and her friends, but she was also forced to leave her mother. What was she saying? She was leaving her life. Both of her lives, as she was forced to side with the enemy. Nothing was more miserable than to leave your life behind and betray your country at the same time. 

The three of them took the elevator down to the garage where two black CIA vans were located. Sydney gave Kendall a questionable look, while Kendall explained that they were sending in a team to surround the building. He wasn't taking any chances. Sloane wasn't going anywhere if he didn't hold true to their deal.

Sydney and Vaughn climbed into the back of the van, holding hands the whole way. The very idea that this could be the last time Vaughn was to see Sydney, was enough to keep him at her side until they were forced to separate. For the rest of the ride, they remained silent.

They arrived at the warehouse within ten minutes, giving them fifteen minutes before the end of the hour. Sydney, Vaughn, and Kendall stepped out. Kendall surveyed the area, but was unable to spy any of Sloane's men if there were any. Vaughn and Sydney headed towards the warehouse doors, Sydney feeling as if she was approaching her execution. Vaughn feelings were not unlike those of Sydney's because he was dying inside. He had thought she was dead for a week, and then she appeared back in his life. Now she was being taken again, and there was nothing he could do but watch.

Vaughn opened the doors and he and Sydney stepped in. They were instantly met with four gun barrels. Vaughn and Sydney were thrown against the wall, soon to be accompanied by Kendall. Two men approached them and performed a body search on the three of them, looking for any weapons. Kendall and Vaughn's guns were thrown across the warehouse where they landed at Sloane's feet.

Finally, after a thorough search, the three were released and Sloane's men dispersed, two to either side of the warehouse. Sloane remained where he was, exactly opposite from the new comers. Jack Bristow remained beside him. His hands and legs were tied, but otherwise he looked unhurt.

"Good evening," Sloane said with that awful sly grin that Sydney had seen so many times before in Sloane's states of triumph. "I'm glad you all could arrive before things became messy."

"Let's get this over with," Kendall said trying to take charge.

"Of course," Sloane said with a smile. He motioned one of the guards over, and he bent down to untie Jack's feet. "Now, this is how things are going to go down. Agent 3471 will walk towards me accompanied by one of my guards, and Jack will walk towards you accompanied by one of my guards. They will begin walking on the count of three." Sydney looked up into her father's eyes as he stood. He was doing everything he could to remain the intimidating man he had always been, but it was hard. He had thought his daughter to be dead, and here she was alive and well, trading her life for his.

"One," Sloane began, "two, three." Sydney and Jack started moving across the warehouse floor in opposite directions. A guard was located at Sydney's right, and the other at Jack's right. As Sydney and her father crossed paths, Sydney reached out and touched his arm briefly, but the move did not go unnoticed.

"Tsk, tsk, Agent 3471," Sloane said, removing a black device from his pocket. "There is to be no physical contact between the two of you." Sloane pushed the button on the detonator, and Sydney fell to the floor in agony as she shook. By this time Jack had stopped and had turned around as he watched his daughter's pained motions. 

Vaughn was watching too, a pained expression on his face. "Stop it!" he yelled as he made a motion to go towards her. 

"Don't move," Sloane said threateningly. "You want it to end? Then stay where you are." Vaughn did as Sloane requested, but not easily. There wasn't anyone Vaughn hated more than Sloane at that moment. Jack too, was having a hard time watching the tortured expression on his daughter's face. His face remained its normal mask, but his eyes shot daggers in Sloane's direction. 

Sloane held on to the button for a few more seconds and stopped. Sydney stopped her sporadic motions and slowly made an attempt to stand up. "Keep walking!" Sloane ordered to both Sydney and Jack. Sydney walked shakily towards Sloane. She couldn't do this. She couldn't live her life like this. Separated from everything she loved only to live her life in pain and betrayal. She knew what she had to do. 

Sydney continued walking forward until she had reached Sloane. When she was about twenty feet away from him, she ran. Before Sloane even knew what was happening, she had kicked the detonator out of his hands and delivered a quick punch to his stomach. Sydney took her foot and slid the nearest gun behind her. "Vaughn!" She yelled, hoping she knew what she was referring to, as she reached down and grabbed the other gun, Kendall's gun, and held it to Sloane. 

"Everyone drop your weapons!" She yelled. "I will shoot him!" Sydney glanced back quickly to analyze the situation. A couple guards were down, killed by Vaughn's gun. Kendall meanwhile was attempting to release Jack from his bonds.

Unfortunately in this attempt to size up the situation, Sloane had moved a hand into his coat. Sydney heard Vaughn call her name only seconds before she heard the gunshot. She dropped her gun in surprise and lowered a hand towards her abdomen. Her hand came back bloody. 

She felt herself fall, but she couldn't really say that she was falling. She felt like she was a feather caught in the wind, until her head finally hit the clouds. Sydney blinked once and saw Vaughn's anxious face. He was calling her name, somewhere far off in the distance. However, the explosion of gunfire that seemed to echo through her head drowned his voice out. _If I'm dying_, she thought to herself, _it's really not so bad. Especially if the last thing I get to see is Vaughn. _

Sydney lifted her hand up and placed it on his knee. She felt him grab it, and squeeze. She squeezed back and then stopped. Sydney Bristow was silent.


	15. Code Red

Author's Comments: Okay, I got a few things to cover before you all start reading. One, thank you all for reviewing. You have no idea how excited I am about all the positive feedback. Two, this is a somewhat short chapter, but that's only because I like to keep you all guessing. Three, there have been questions from particular readers, so I'm going to address them in a second, so you can go ahead and start reading if you'd like. Keep reviewing everyone!

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Ryanne: Vaughn did not shoot Sydney, Sloane did. Vaughn tried to warn, Syd, but he was too late.

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Molly: I'm not cruel, I just like action. As you may have noticed, I don't spend too much time describing settings because I feel that no matter how I explain it, every reader will have a different opinion. It's the action that keeps me interested and excited along with the reader, but I'm glad you can see past my "cruelty" and enjoy the story!

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Colly E.: About the snow days. We are required to be in school for a total of 180 days each school year. We are given three snow days that we can use up without penalty. Every day after that is made up by taking away some sort of holiday, mostly teacher workdays. However we've had a total of eleven snow days this year, and the county has several options. They can say the hell with them, and we don't have to make them up, they can add the missed days to the end of the year, or they can make the remaining days we have left longer by adding an hour. However, there are problems with every single option and at this point, the county has no idea what it plans to do. My guess however is that they'll add hours to every day. Personally, the only idea I like is to forget the whole thing never happened, but it's doubtful that'll happen. I hope I answered your question!

Chapter 15

ALLIANCE HEADQUARTERS

The Alliance of twelve, only had eleven. In the world of espionage there was much deceit, especially as an association working against the United States. 

The meeting was called at approximately ten o'clock on Saturday, to exclude one member of the Alliance. They had all heard about what had taken place on Fadell street the previous day, and none were happy.

"We will discharge Agent 3471 from the basement facility," the SD-1 leader said. "She is of no more use to us."

"Don't you think we should terminate her. She does work with the CIA," the SD-10 leader suggested.

"Maybe, in time. But she is of no asset to the CIA right now. The CIA has gained little if any new information on the Alliance from her. Besides her condition is critical, and there is a possibility that Sloane may have taken care of her termination himself," the SD-1 leader explained.

"And Sloane?" the SD-3 leader inquired. 

"He will be dealt with."

* * *

Vaughn stood in the hospital doorway of the ICU unit. He couldn't bring himself to go in and disrupt Jack Bristow who was holding Sydney's hand at her bedside. It was hard for him to even look into the room and see Sydney so lifeless. 

Tubes seemed to be coming out of every part of her body, and her face was pale and lifeless. Her eyes were closed. Vaughn turned away from the two as he remembered last night's events. 

He had seen Sloane pull the gun from his pocket and he had seen him fire. The moment after the deed was done, Sloane ran. Vaughn didn't even have to think twice about who he was going to focus on at that moment. He let Sloane run to the exit and headed for Sydney who was now lying on the ground, red surrounding her wound. 

He remembered briefly the scene around him. Kendall and Jack were focused on Sloane, not even realizing that Sydney was down. The warehouse had erupted into a firing range, but in the end Sloane got past the CIA's barricade and in the clear. 

Vaughn had called her name over and over. Telling her to hang on, but the moment she let go of his hand, he lost it. He cried. Maybe under any other circumstances, with any other person he would have acted rationally and gone for help, but he couldn't handle it. The whole week's events combined with the lifeless form of the woman he loved were enough to send him over the edge. He wasn't even aware that Jack and Kendall had arrived and were using the phone to call an ambulance.

_Who said men had to be strong? Whoever made up that stupid rule anyway?_ Vaughn asked himself, bringing his consciousness back to reality, as he turned his gaze back to father and daughter. Jack was in fact was sitting there with more strength than Vaughn could compose, but even Jack wasn't without pain at that moment

His hand never left hers as he sat there in the little silence that was provided in between beeps of Sydney's heart monitor. He said nothing to her, but his eyes fully expressed everything he was thinking. His hope, sadness, and love were all seen in full view. The man before Vaughn was strong, but he was not the intimidating Jack Bristow that Vaughn had grown to know and understand. He was a father.

Vaughn finally got the courage to step into the room. Jack looked up slightly and then turned his attention back to his daughter. Getting a full view of Jack's face at that moment allowed Vaughn to fully realize the toll last night's events had taken on him. 

The EMT's were working feverishly on Sydney the whole way to the hospital, but the whole way her pulse was weak. The moment they arrived, Sydney was rushed into the operating room, and was not seen for several hours. Vaughn and Jack remained in the waiting room all night, though neither of them said a word to each other. Neither could say anything to comfort the other because they were so used to the truth. Death was not uncommon among the life of a field agent and there was a chance Sydney wouldn't make it. Who could increase the hopes of another without believing their own words?

It was seven before anyone came out with any news. They were told damage was severe with the shot having been at such a close range, but they got her stable. She was put on a respirator, though there was still apparent brain activity. Surgery had been successful but they still needed to make sure that the brain was receiving oxygen. She was assigned to the ICU for the next twenty-four critical hours.

Vaughn stepped up to the opposite side of the bed and touched her hair. He could see that at the roots, it was brown. The familiar brown hair he had always loved.

"How are you, Mr. Bristow?" Vaughn finally asked.

"She's doing alright," Jack said gruffly without really hearing the question. 

"No, Mr. Bristow. How are _you_ doing?" Vaughn asked the question again.

Jack looked somewhat surprised at this line of questioning. "Fine." He didn't make any attempt to continue their small talk, and frankly that was fine with Vaughn, because apparently Jack wasn't very good at it.

The two men turned their attention back to the girl in front of them. Vaughn looked at her pale body and realized she had gauze taped over her neck.

"The transmitter?" Vaughn asked.

"Removed," Jack confirmed. "X-ray showed it was inactive, so they removed it." _At least something is going right_, Vaughn thought to himself.

But to even think such an idea seemed to anger some one, as Sydney's heart beat suddenly became more irregular. Jack and Vaughn stepped away. Before either one could even go for help, the room was filled with doctors.

Vaughn could only hear bits and pieces of the bustle of technical terms being thrown around him, but he got the just of it. Sydney had coded and was falling into cardiac arrest.

* * *

The surgical room became a circus around the newcomer who was in full cardiac arrest. It had been a full forty-five minutes since the patient had entered the room, and there was still no pulse.

"Call it, Sam," Nurse Terry said as she began to peel off her gloves. 

Dr. Sam Williams looked at the clock on the wall. "12:03 a.m." Dr. Williams said as Nurse Terry covered the body. "Good job, everyone."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hehehehe, I'm an action woman who says leave the readers hanging. I guess it's lucky I update often, huh?


	16. Okay Smiles

Author's Comments: Thank you everyone for your reviews. Repetitive, I know, but my joy remains in your words. Anywayz, once again I'm going to address some reader's reviews, so if you're not one of the below people, feel free to read on. Keep reading and reviewing!

Side note: Can you believe what happened on last Sunday's Alias? Oh my God! Do you all really think that Irina is just what the prophecy says? I'm dying to know what happens!

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C-strike: I'd like to answer your question, but I'm not comfortable with giving out where I live. I'm just cautious. Sorry. 

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Val: I'll address what's going on with Will and Francie in the upcoming chapters.

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HoneyB: I'm really honored that you want to nominate me for best Alias fanfic, but I'm not comfortable with giving out my e-mail to strangers (please don't take offense). Thanks again, though. :)

Chapter 16

Dr. Williams carried the clipboard containing the patient's information to the desk. 

"Hey Jessie!" Dr. Williams called to one of the on duty nurses.

"Is," Sam looked at the clipboard, "Arvin Sloane's family here?" The pretty brunette shook her head. 

"Excuse me." Sam looked up into the eyes of a young man with dark hair and green eyes. His expression was confused.

"Yes?" Sam inquired.

"Did you say that Arvin Sloane was a patient here?" He asked.

"Yes, are you related to Mr. Sloane?" Sam asked suspicious. 

"No, I'm--" he stopped looking through his pockets until he found his ID. "I'm Agent Michael Vaughn of the CIA. Is Mr. Sloane here?"

Dr. Williams looked at the badge before answering the question. "Yeah, he's here, but he coded. We tried resuscitation for forty-five minutes. He's dead," he explained. "I'm sorry," Dr. Williams added seeing Vaughn's surprised expression.

"How?" Vaughn managed to ask before Dr. Williams turned away.

"Two gunshot wounds to the back. Guy really didn't have a chance," Dr. Williams said before taking a new chart and heading down the corridor. 

As worried as Vaughn was about Sydney, he had been surprised to hear a doctor mention Sloane's name, and even more surprised to hear that he was dead. Vaughn somehow wandered back to where Jack was tensely sitting in the chair. Vaughn looked over at him and told him the news. 

Jack nodded almost knowingly. "Probably the work of the Alliance." The two of them fell back into silence, lost in their own thoughts. Sydney had been gone for twenty minutes and the more the clocked ticked the more nervous they became. 

The doctor however came out less then ten minutes later and relieved them of their fears.

"We got her stable," he said, explaining the situation. "A blood clot triggered the attack. The obstruction has been cleared, and in my honest medical opinion, I think we'll have some breakthroughs sometime soon."

"May we see her?" Jack inquired. 

"In a few minutes. She's being taken back up to the ICU," he explained. Jack nodded curtly to the man, as Vaughn quickly said his thanks and headed quickly down the hallway to catch up with Jack.

The two headed into the ICU, waiting for Sydney to return. She was brought up in a matter of minutes. Just as the doctor had said. The nurse set the stretcher in its previous spot, checked her vital signs, and then left them alone. 

Jack headed back to her side. Vaughn continued to stand where he was in order to allow them some space. Vaughn, in every aspect wanted to believe that Sydney would be coming out of it soon, but upon her return from surgery, she looked no better than she had when she had left. Her face and skin were still pale, and it even seemed like there were more tubes in her body then there had been previously. The general sight made his heart ache.

Vaughn came up to the opposite side of the bed and took her had once again. He sat down and stayed there. Not caring what Jack was thinking about his display of affection, not even acknowledging that he was even the room. It was just the two of them. He leaned back in his chair, never letting go of her hand. Slowly his eyelids closed, but in his mind, her face was still there. 

He could visualize her perfectly. Her hair was brown as it always was, and her eyes too. In his dreams she had always been okay. Sloane was nonexistent, and the letters CIA seemed not to be in his vocabulary. The only problem was that her vision, was at first happy to him, but the smile began to fade. She turned away from him, pain was her only feeling. This emotion made her unreachable, and he was to only watch. Even in his dreams he was forced to watch her pain with no assistance. 

Vaughn blinked his eyes open. The room was lit with the morning sunshine. He looked across the room. Jack was asleep. He turned his gaze back to Sydney. He wanted her so much. He hated his last dream for being so much like reality. He rubbed the hand that he so lovingly cradled and wished that his dream not come true. They were going to be together, happy and in love. Together, always. 

* * *

The world was dark to Sydney's eyes. She found the darkness suffocating and frightening until she forced her eyelids open. She blinked a couple times trying to adjust. The room was still dark, but not as dark as it had been before. It was still however, suffocating. Sydney struggled to breathe, and soon found that there was something in her throat.

She attempted to raise her hands and find out what it was that was making it difficult to breathe, but she found they were tied. She panicked slightly, thinking of all those times she had been threatened with torture and interrogated, bound tightly to a chair. Her eyes scanned her surroundings again, but this time she spied something she had missed. It was Vaughn. He sat in a chair next to her, with his head in his hand as his arm lay on the chair's armrest. His other hand was barely resting on the bed however it remained not too far from where her hand lay.

Sydney relaxed slightly. Seeing something familiar was comforting, but she was still weary. At least she was until her father stepped into the room.

"Sydney!" he cried, as he rushed to the side opposite of Vaughn, carrying a cup of coffee. He set the coffee down and came to her side. 

Vaughn awoke at this exclamation, automatically reaching for his gun. He calmed down when he saw what the cry was really about. 

"Sydney, you're awake!" Vaughn said happily. Sydney tried to respond to their outcries but the tube made it difficult.

"Don't try and talk," Jack advised. "Vaughn," Jack said without looking at him. "Go get the doctor." Vaughn nodded and ran only as far as the door as he spied Dr. Eric Conner at the front desk. He called him over.

He put down the charts he had been looking at and came towards them at a fast walk. "She's awake!" Vaughn exclaimed as he entered the room.

Dr. Conner approached Sydney with a smile. "Impressive Ms. Bristow. Very impressive. That's got to be one of the fastest recoveries I've ever seen." Vaughn stayed back as Dr. Conner stood next to Sydney and checked all her vital signs. Vaughn was happy to see that the blue colored contacts that Sydney had been wearing had been removed to reveal her nature brown eyes. 

Sydney attempted to make indications to the tube in her throat, without using her hands. He put his hand out to tell her to relax. "I know the tube is uncomfortable, Ms. Bristow. Just wait a second. It's not going to be anymore comfortable when it's removed." He finished looking over her and smiled.

"Everything looks good, Ms. Bristow. Alright, I'm going to untie your hands, but you have to promise not to try and remove the tube, okay?" Sydney nodded as well as she could, as Dr. Conner reached down to undo the left binding. Jack worked on the right. Sydney rubbed her wrists while moving her fingers.

"I know," Dr. Conner said shaking his head. "The straps are no fun, but it keeps people from causing more damage to themselves. We can't have people waking up and then attempting to yank the tube out of their throat. Especially if they're incapable of breathing without it.

"Do you feel alright?" he asked her. She nodded. "Do you want to try sitting up?" Again, she nodded. Dr. Conner reached for the keypad on the railing on the side of the bed, and pushed the bed up so that the bed was now at a fifty-degree angle. "Now, from our view of your respiratory habits, you are capable of breathing on your own. I'm going to remove the tube, but in doing so, the sides of the tube will tickle your throat, causing you to cough. Can you handle that? It may hurt your stomach wound." 

Sydney's mind flashed back to the warehouse as she remembered what had happened. It was odd though, her chest hurt in more than one place. She however, shrugged it off. She had been through much worse in the past. She nodded to his question. 

"Alright then. Open your mouth real wide, and try to keep your tongue out of the way." Dr. Conner grabbed his flashlight, and shined it down, looking past the tube, and gently began to pull it out. As soon as the end of it left her mouth, Sydney fell into a fit of coughing. Sydney grabbed her chest in the pain that wrenched threw her body, as her father and Vaughn watched on in anxiety. 

Dr. Conner, seeing her pained expression, reached for the pillow on the empty bed next to them and gave it to Sydney, instructing her to hold it tightly to her abdomen as she coughed. Sydney did as he instructed, relaxing slightly as the coughing ceased and the pain her chest lessened with the help of the pillow. 

"Thanks," she rasped, once the coughs had finally subsided. 

Dr. Conner smiled at her. "No problem Sydney. You're one hell of a patient. If you keep your recovery rate up, you'll be outta here in no time."

Dr. Conner checked her vitals one more time, and listened to her take deep breaths in her chest. "Very good. Now, you two," he said turning to Jack and Vaughn. "Must not tire out the patient. The best thing she can do right now is rest. No liquids or outside food for the time being, we've got to let your stomach settle Ms. Bristow, before we try that." 

Dr. Conner walked out the door, leaving the three alone. Jack looked down at his daughter. "You should get some rest," he said in his voice that would instantly demand the listener his respect. Sydney, however, could see the happiness in his eyes, and the bags under them.

Sydney looked at both of them. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Not until the two of you go home and take the same advice," she said, her voice still scratchy. "I've been out for--" she paused, looking at them to fill in the blank. 

"Two days," Vaughn supplied.

"Two days," Sydney repeated, continuing, "I've gotten my rest. You need to get yours." Sydney said, starting to feel tired. 

"Sydney," Jack said sternly.

"Not until I see you walk out that door, both of you," she said, yawning after that sentence. 

"Alright," Vaughn amended. She may have been tired, but she was stubborn. He went to her side and took her hand. She looked back at him. She could see in her eyes that she was happy, but there was something else that seemed to flash through them, and that was despair. It scared him a little. 

She gave him a shadow of a smile, and he kissed her forehead and headed to the door. He didn't want to leave, but she needed rest and for that he was willing to meet her terms. 

Jack stayed by the door and gave her a long searching look before heading towards the door. "Take care, Sydney," he said and stepped out of the room. Sydney couldn't say she was surprised by his actions. Sydney's life had been completely void of her father's physical affection. Jack Bristow wasn't one to come up and kiss her on the cheek or even hug her in greeting or good-bye. She understood now, that in the times he wanted to, he didn't know how, but she knew how he felt in his heart.

Sydney settled back into bed, and was about to close her eyes, when Vaughn stuck his head back into the room. 

"Sydney?" he asked. He needn't continue. Sydney knew what he was making reference to. She was however, to tired to talk about it now. 

Sydney shook her head. "Later," she said.

Vaughn nodded unhappily. He wanted her to talk, to explain, why her spirit cried. 

"Vaughn?" He looked up. "I love you." She said, looking him straight in the eye so that there was no way he could not know that her feelings were genuine. 

He smiled with his heart on stage. "I love you too." Her eyes searched his and she gave him a contented smile as she settled back in her bed. Vaughn left with the grin still on his face.


	17. The Disappearing Wind

Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for reviewing! Don't worry, it's not over yet. I've just gotten a great idea for an ending and there are a couple more surprises involved. So keep R/R! 

Chapter 17

Jack Bristow and Michael Vaughn visited Sydney everyday, and everyday, her physical condition improved. A day after the respirator was removed she was able to walk easily down the hospital's hallways. But no matter how excited Vaughn was by Sydney's physical recovery, there was still the sad emotional side of her that became more evident, and Vaughn worried. 

Sydney didn't laugh or smile nearly as much as she used to. She didn't even talk much to either him or her father. It killed him to see her in such a state, where she took life with a shrug. He had wanted Sydney to come back to him, but not in the state that she was in. 

Even the night before when he had walked into the room she seemed to be lacking her tough confident attitude. She had been sitting on her bed, looking out the window of her now private room. She hadn't even looked up as he walked in. 

"Sydney?" he had asked hesitantly. He went to her side, and sat next to her on the bed. 

She waited a full minute before answering him. "It was me at the cemetery that night."

Vaughn looked at her confused. "What?"

"You were at my grave, and I just watched. I had escaped from Sloane's custody temporarily. I wanted to approach you, and tell you I was okay. But the transmitter…The meeting inspired me to write the note."

Vaughn put his arm around her. "Hey, it's okay, you're here now. We both are."

Sydney just nodded distantly and was silent. Vaughn's look had remained confused, even now, as he tried to figure out why she had decided to tell him that, and why it had upset her.

Dr. Conner had okayed her release for the next day at noon. That was until Sydney had been overcome with dizziness and had fainted upon her third day of walking around. It was then that Dr. Conner requested both Jack's and Vaughn's presence in his office.

Dr. Conner closed the door and sat down. "I've asked you both here because of this last episode. You both seem to be the most important people in Sydney's life right now, and the most able to help her."

"Why, what's wrong?" Vaughn asked worried about how this was going.

"Relax, Mr. Vaughn. Sydney is doing fine physically. But to me, she seems depressed, and I think that whatever is bothering her is what caused her to faint today. Do either of you have any idea of what could be bothering her?"

Jack replied with a firm no, while Vaughn thought a moment. He explained to Dr. Conner what Sydney had told him. 

Dr. Conner nodded. "I think you should explore that. I'm releasing her tomorrow on the promise from the two of you that Sydney will see a psychologist."

"Fine," Jack said curtly. 

"Good, then we're done. Take care of her," Dr. Conner said. "There will only be a few forms for Sydney to sign when she leaves tomorrow. Otherwise it is all taken care of."

The two of them shook their hands with Dr. Conner, and left the room. They headed to Sydney's room, Jack saying good-bye as he planned to head back to the office. After he had left, Sydney scooted over, and Vaughn laid on top of the sheets next to her. Vaughn could tell she didn't want to talk, so he turned on the TV and left it on the news. 

Sydney watched the screen with blank eyes. Vaughn sighed getting comfortable, when his cell-phone suddenly rang. Vaughn reluctantly pulled out his cell-phone, giving Sydney an apologetic look that went unnoticed.

"Vaughn," he said, once he was in the hallway. 

"Vaughn, it's Weiss." 

"What's up?" Vaughn asked.

"I wanted to tell you this before you heard it on the news, but Sydney's house was bombed." Vaughn's heart fell.

"What? When?" Vaughn asked.

"At one o'clock." _An hour ago_, Vaughn realized.

"Was anyone there?" Vaughn asked, hoping no one was.

"No, we had extracted Will and Francie a few days ago," Weiss said. _So why would they bother to bomb the house when no one was there_? Vaughn wondered.

"Weiss," Vaughn said swallowing with difficulty. "Is there anything left?" 

He heard his friend sigh in sadness. "No, Vaughn. Nothing."

"Thanks, Weiss," Vaughn said hanging up. He put the phone back into his coat, and stepped into the room, debating on how to break it to Sydney. But as he looked at Sydney he could tell that she already knew.

She was staring at the TV with a view of horror. "Vaughn!" She cried to him, tears appearing in her eyes. "Francie and Will?"

"They're fine, Syd. They weren't in the house. The CIA has placed them in the WPP." Sydney relaxed somewhat but tears still poured down her cheeks as she watched the screen and the remains of her house being burnt to the ground. 

"Sydney-" Vaughn began, trying to comfort him.

"Why, Vaughn?" Sydney asked him quietly. "Why are they doing this? They've taken away everything I've ever loved and spat it back into my face. My chances for a normal life, Danny, the honesty with my friends, Will's career, everything. What's left of my life outside of work is now being devoured in flames."

Vaughn tried to speak, but Sydney wasn't done. "And what am left to do, now? Quit the CIA? I'd be doing as much good as I would if I stayed. They'd track me down so they can take another part of me. They take the worst form of torture that they know to destroy my life, and I'm only to watch. That is my life."

Vaughn watched her and her angry tears. She was coming apart before his eyes, and it felt like a part of him was dying.

"Sydney," Vaughn said firmly but gently. "I can't say you can get it all back, but you can fight for it."

"Fight?" Sydney spat with disdain. "That's all I do. I've had to fight for everything in my life, Vaughn," she said, locking her eyes with his. "Even for you, I fought."

"I know, Syd. But what can I say, you're right. You quit the CIA and they'll still track you down. However, you can't make this life go away by running, but you can fight to get rid of it. You can help bring them down."

"No I can't, Vaughn," Sydney said turning away from him as she began to assume her quiet distant mood once again. "They know I'm CIA. Leave or stay they know. I have nothing left to lose."

Vaughn looked at her in sadness. "You have me to lose, Syd. You have your father, your mother, Will, and Francie. All who care about you."

Sydney turned back to him, her tears dry. "Thank you." She reached her lips up to his, and she kissed him passionately. "You're right," she whispered breaking away. "There's still one thing left to do."

* * *

The next morning, Vaughn arrived at the hospital around eleven thirty. The plan was for him to pick Sydney up and take her to his house, where she'd stay for at least for awhile. Vaughn approached the desk just as he passed Dr. Conner in the hallway.

"Mr. Vaughn!" Dr. Conner said, stopping in surprise. "What are you doing here? Is everything all right?"

"Everything's fine. I'm just here to pick up Sydney," Vaughn replied.

Dr. Conner raised an eyebrow at this. "Pick up, Sydney? Ms. Bristow checked out an hour ago."


	18. Reappearing Memories

Author's Notes: Sorry everyone about taking so long. I think our snow days are done for the year, so I can only right on weekends when I don't have too much homework. Thanks to everyone for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy Chapter 18!

Chapter 18

"What?" Vaughn asked eyes wide. "Was she with anyone? Did she saw where she was going? Did she leave any message for me?"

Dr. Conner shook his head. "No, she wasn't with anyone, she didn't say where she was going, and she didn't leave any message."

"But why didn't you stop her?" Vaughn asked.

Dr. Conner gave Vaughn a hard look. "Mr. Vaughn, I've been on duty since seven yesterday morning, and though Ms. Bristow was one of my patients her physical condition was good enough for her to leave. She was the one who had to sign the release forms. I couldn't hold her here until you came to pick her up. There was no way." Dr. Conner softened. "I want to find her as much as you do. With Ms. Bristow's new emotional state I believe it's best. Now tell me, Mr. Vaughn. Do you think Ms. Bristow's capable of suicide?"

Vaughn could only look up into the doctor's eyes and answer with a hesitant "I don't know." After making a few more inquires Vaughn discovered that Sydney had not called a cab, and had simply walked out of the hospital. It was with this information that Vaughn decided to walk down LA's crowded streets, starting from the hospital's front entrance. 

Vaughn passed each shop, one-by-one, thinking none of them likely as to a place that Sydney may have stopped. He didn't understand why Sydney was doing this. All she needed to do was to open up and talk to him. This whole scene seemed like the beginning of their first meetings all over again. Sydney would enter, receive her mission, and leave. During that time, there was no in between chatter, or comments about their daily lives. 

Vaughn stopped and pulled out his cell phone for the tenth time and pushed the redial button. He had been calling Sydney's cell phone every twenty minutes and he had yet to get in touch with her. He closed his phone in disgust as Sydney's voice mail picked up once again. The street sidewalk around him was a bustle of activity and it seemed as if the chances of him finding Sydney were slim. _Sydney, where are you?_

The phone that Vaughn had angrily placed in his jacket rang. Vaughn reached inside his coat and pulled it open eagerly. "Sydney?" he asked in place of his normal greeting.

"Sydney?" came Jack Bristow's confused voice. Vaughn was filled with dread. He had yet to inform Jack of Sydney's disappearance and he could tell that this confrontation was not going to be pleasant. "She's not with you?"

Vaughn paused trying to think how to answer that question. He finally decided to be blunt. "Sydney checked herself out of the hospital, and I have no idea where she is."

The growl in Jack's voice became apparent with his next words. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I've been trying to find her," Vaughn stated lamely. What he was really trying to say was already implied. He had been trying to cover his ass when in actuality there was nothing to cover. Sydney's disappearance hadn't been his fault, but it sure felt that way.

Noticing this, Jack steered the conversation in a different direction. "Any leads?"

"All I know is she walked out of the hospital making her moves untraceable," Vaughn said, frustrated.

Jack pondered on this and was careful not to hint any blame in his words. "I'll inform the CIA and get our men to work on it." Jack paused. "Get something to eat and go home, Agent Vaughn. Sydney will be found." The line went dead and Vaughn put his phone away again. He looked at his watch, and decided to head back in the direction of the hospital to get his car.

There were so many questions he didn't understand. Why had Sydney left? Why was she depressed? Where was she? Was she okay? Why had her house been bombed when no one was home? He thought briefly of the bombing and the time frame in which it had taken place and the realization hit him. Sydney was supposed to be released at noon on that day, which would have placed her at home at the time of the bombing. The bombing wasn't meant to be an act of sabotage or a threat, it was meant as murder.

__

It has to be the act of the Alliance, Vaughn thought. He shook his head sadly. Anyone could say that they've had a harder life than Sydney Bristow, but he thought that the competition would be slim. Sydney had to lie to her friends every day while keeping an eye over her shoulder. She had lived thinking her mother dead, then found she had been a spy for the KGB. Later she found her mother was alive and she had shot her on their first meeting. She had watched Will's life become ruined because of her secrets. She had also been estranged from her father until she joined an agency that threatened her life as part of its daily requirements. She had even discovered that he had used her in an experiment and had tried to frame her mother to prove her disloyalty to the CIA. She had been under more torture situations than Vaughn cared to count and on more dangerous missions than he cared to remember. Even the starts of their relationship had been rocky because of SD-6 and Rambaldi. Sydney Bristow had not had an easy life.

Vaughn opened his car door and got in. Just pondering on Sydney's hard life depressed him, but Vaughn figured that if it was Sydney's past that was bugging her, she would feel no reason not to come forward. Their first meetings aside, the two of them had always been open about her life as an agent and her "normal" life with her friends. There had to be something else. 

Vaughn headed towards the CIA office after finding no interest in eating and no desire to go home. He would feel better if he could monitor the investigation of Sydney's disappearance himself. He pulled into the CIA parking lot and headed up to the office. Jack Bristow, even though he had advised Vaughn to go home, he wasn't surprised to see him.

"Any news?" Vaughn inquired within minutes of his entry.

"We've got a lead," Jack said standing up and walking briskly towards the tech room. "We've been monitoring credit card usage among local shops and we've hacked into their security cameras."

"What's the lead?" Vaughn asked impatiently.

Jack glared at him briefly and continued. "Dover Electronics. This footage," he said gesturing to running footage of the inside of the local electronics store, "shows Sydney entering, searching briefly, and purchasing several items with cash." 

Vaughn stared at the footage trying to make out the items. "Any idea what they are?"

"Only one for sure," Jack said. "That right there is a video tape." Jack pointed at the package of several rectangular objects bond together in plastic. "We've sent agents down to inquire about her other purchases."

Vaughn thought for a moment about the whole situation. "Any idea as to why she needs these items?"

"No," Jack said with a set jaw. He was worried, Vaughn could tell. For both of their sakes he hopped Sydney would try to contact them soon.

Suddenly, a ringing came from the holster in Jack's pocket.

"Bristow," he answered. He nodded as the person on the other end talked for a few minutes. "Alright, come on back."

"What was that about?" Vaughn asked.

"Those were the agents I sent out to inquire about Sydney's purchases. Aside from the tapes, she purchased a video tape recorder," Jack said.

"A video tape recorder?" Vaughn repeated, pondering aloud. _What in the world was she up to?_

"Any leads on the bombing?" Vaughn asked, trying to figure out this whole crazy mess.

"The explosive was set to go off at one o'clock with the whole base of the house being wired to it," Jack said in his emotionless voice. The voice he always took into affect when he wanted to hide his feelings. 

Vaughn just nodded as he turned his attention back to the TV monitors in the tech room. He rubbed his temple and glanced at his watch. Five o'clock. The day had been long, and it seemed like months since he had had a good night's sleep. He turned his attention back to the screen. He tapped Jack in surprise.

"What's going on?" Jack looked down to see what Vaughn was talking about. He looked at the screen in confusion. All the monitors had turned to snow. "Jim! What's happening to the monitors?" Jack asked, addressed one of the other senior officer's who was on the computer.

"Someone's hacked into the satellite," Jim replied, typing furiously on the computer. Seconds later however, his computer went blank.

"Jack," Vaughn said. Jack turned towards Vaughn who stood frozen staring at the monitor.

"Sydney?" Jack exclaimed.


	19. His Black Heart

A/N: Thank you all for reviewing, and patiently waiting for the next chapter. I've been really busy, but I'll try to update again as soon as possible. So keep reading!

Chapter 19

Jack and Vaughn stared at the monitor as Sydney appeared on the screen. She was standing behind a tall wooden podium, dressed in simple jeans and a white blouse. Her expression was quite calm, but her eyes burned fired.

"My fellow Americans," she said with authority. "I apologize for the interruption, but my important announcement will only take a few minutes of your time." She took a deep breath and continued. "My name is Sydney Bristow and I am an agent of the CIA. Some of you may have heard about my death in the paper, but it was staged. It was staged by an agency that pretends to be our ally. I am referring to the Alliance. A group made of twelve SD-cells posing as a subunit of the CIA, that work together for the gathering of arms and weaponry for the enemies of our nation. Some of you may remember the reference made to SD-6 by a reporter a few months back. He later confessed to the nation that his words were induced by the drugs he had been addicted to. His words were admitted falsely. He admitted to this addiction to keep himself from being another victim of the Alliance's many murders."

Sydney was looking sadly into the camera now. "I come before you all now, to make you aware of the deception around you. The CIA needs your help to bring down this agency and stop the traitors of our country. Please take my words to consideration and contact the CIA if you have any information regarding the Alliance. Thank you." The monitor went blank and the computers turned on to their original screen once again.

Jack was still staring at the monitor, emotionless as usual, until Kendall came bursting into the room. When he spied Jack, he came rushing towards him.

"Jack, what the hell was that?" Kendall asked. "What was she trying to do? Destroy our whole operation?"

"The Alliance is already on her tail for having escaped their custody," Vaughn said defending her. "Not to mention the fact that security measures have already been upped after discovering three under cover agents in one week. She decided to take a different alternative, possibly a more effective one."

"More effective?" Kendall repeated the words with disgust. "What did she think the Alliance was going to do after they heard that message? Try and kill her? Possibly. But another possibility is that they'll take their whole operation underground where it will be impossible to trace their actions."

"But people may call in with information," Vaughn protested. He glanced over at Jack quickly, hoping he'd help come to Sydney's defense. He remained quiet. "We may be able to obtain enough intel to take down the Alliance in a matter of hours."

"How many people do you think are willing to risk their life to come forward? Because that's exactly what they'll be doing the moment they pick up their phone." 

"What about those people in the military, navy, police force, FBI, and CIA who put their lives on the line daily for their country?" Vaughn asked quietly. "Don't they count?"

Kendall gave Vaughn a weary stare. "Those people aren't the ones we need to come forward, Agent Vaughn. We need the citizens to come forward, the corrupt leaders of many countries to come forward, the wealthy, the assassins, the people who are loyal to the Alliance who know that the Alliance is not a division of the CIA. Those are the people we need." Vaughn was silent and looked down. 

Kendall turned away from Vaughn and confronted Jack. "Find your daughter, Jack. Inform me when you locate her."

Jack nodded and spoke before Kendall walked away. "I apologize for Sydney's behavior." Kendall gave Jack a crisp nod and left, leaving Vaughn in a state of disbelief. 

"Why didn't you stick up for her?" Vaughn cried.

Jack faced him in his same emotionless state. "I don't let my feelings get the better of me, Agent Vaughn. And you shouldn't either." At Vaughn's angry stare, Jack continued. "I love my daughter, despite what you may think, but I also know that what Sydney just did was reckless. She's jeopardized the whole mission. The sooner you realize that, the better." Jack turned to walk away, but Vaughn pulled him back.

"Sydney has worked just as hard as you have to bring down this agency," Vaughn said angrily, as Jack shrugged his shoulder away from Vaughn's grip. "These previous years the CIA has become closer to taking down the Alliance, but is it going to happen any time soon? Probably not. Sydney is risking her life by announcing to the whole world who she is and what her intentions are with no goal but to take down the Alliance. If you loved Sydney-"

"Loved Sydney?" Jack exclaimed angrily. "Sydney is my daughter, and my concerns for her are none of your business. What you're not getting Agent Vaughn, is besides the fact that her move was reckless, it's dangerous. Sydney's tape wasn't viewed just by the CIA, the Alliance, or the United States. It was broadcast throughout the whole world. Every person who had a damn TV saw the broadcast. What she did was suicide."

Vaughn looked at Jack with disappointment. "Suicide? This isn't some fucking cry for attention, Jack. She's risking her life for her country, only a little bit more than usual. She's just doing what no one else ever would." Vaughn walked away with more certainty than he really felt about Sydney's intentions. He didn't believe that what Sydney did was suicide, but her emotional condition made him wonder.

Vaughn jumped from his train of thought as his phone rang. He reached into his jacket and pulled it out. "Hello?"

"Vaughn?" Vaughn instantly recognized her voice. He walked quickly to an empty conference room and shut the door.

"Sydney, where are you?" Vaughn asked.

"It doesn't matter. Tell me, did you see my broadcast?" Sydney asked.

"Yes, and you've got Kendall looking for your head because of it," Vaughn said sarcastically. 

"I'm coming in," Sydney said bluntly. 

"To the CIA? Sydney, at this point, that's crazy," Vaughn protested.

"Where else would I go?" Sydney asked.

Vaughn sighed. "Syd, Kendall at this point wants to kill you as much as the Alliance. Your father is siding with him on this one. He thinks that the broadcast was reckless."

"I see," she paused before continuing. "Do you think that it was reckless, Vaughn?"

Vaughn thought a moment. "It was a risk, Syd. A big risk, but it was an alternate alternative that may give beneficial results. However, I wouldn't call it reckless." Sydney was silent at his comments, and Vaughn decided to turn the conversation back to Sydney's original statement. "We should meet, Syd. You and I. We need to talk about this before we do anything rash."

"Alright," Sydney agreed. Sydney smiles and Vaughn can hear the laugh in her voice. "Joey's pizza?"

Vaughn smiled. "Sorry, wrong number." Vaughn waited until he heard the dial tone before he hung up, unknown to him that someone had been listening.

THE WAREHOUSE

Vaughn paced the warehouse floor, waiting for Sydney to appear. He had arrived at their meeting spot within ten minutes of her call. He stopped when he heard the familiar clicking of heels on the warehouse pavement. His face expressed his relief at seeing her. She was dressed in the same outfit she had been in when she had broadcasted her message, except now, she looked a lot more tired. 

"Hey," she called standing a few feet away from him.

"Hey," Vaughn replied. He slowly walked over to her, and took her in a hug. Sydney hugged him back. Vaughn took in her scent in complete bliss. It had been forever since he'd hugged her like this.

They pulled apart, and headed over to the set of crates and sat down. "Syd-" Vaughn began.

"Relax, Vaughn," Sydney said, already understanding where he was going with this. "I'm not depressed and I'm not trying to kill myself or anything. I just want to take down the Alliance." Sydney paused, wringing her hands and staring at the wall. "Many people have died at the hand of the Alliance. But never have I intentionally pulled the trigger in their favor."

Vaughn put an arm around her shoulder. "Sydney, Diane's murder was not your fault. Only the Alliance's. They used you just as they used every one else in that building."

"It doesn't feel that way," Sydney said remorsefully, resting her head on Vaughn's shoulder. Vaughn pulled her close. Neither of them said a word.

"Sydney." Sydney looked up at the mention of her name, and looked into the eyes of her father.

"Dad?" she asked in surprise. Both Sydney and Vaughn got to their feet. Four more agents and Kendall dressed in black appeared out of the shadows. 

"What's going on?" Sydney asked confused. "What are you doing here?"

"We bugged Agent Vaughn's cell phone," Kendall stated bluntly.

Vaughn looked at Kendall with disbelief. "You tapped my phone? Who-"

"Save it Agent Vaughn, you're in enough trouble as it is. Breaking protocol and not informing me of Agent Bristow's whereabouts are enough for me to fire you." Kendall turned to Sydney. "You, Agent Bristow, have some explaining to do." Kendall gave a motion to the nearby CIA agents who surrounded Sydney and put her in cuffs. "Sydney Bristow, you're under arrest for treason and conspiracy."

Sydney looked at her father in disbelief, who was keeping all emotions from reaching his face. Sydney could only feel betrayed. Jack Bristow was a statue. 


	20. Like Mother, Like Daughter

A/N: Sorry this is sort of a short chapter, but I hope you enjoy it none the less. It sort of helps explain any missing details about the story. Anywayz, thanks everyone for all the reviews, and well, keep writing more! I love hearing y'alls opinions! Chapter 20 

            Sydney now understood what it felt like to be her mother, a prisoner of the United States government. Considered as the enemy, you were treated like dirt. No one said a word to her as she was escorted down the hallway with chained wrists and ankles and brought to a room similar to the one she was interrogated in when Rambaldi's prophecy was being investigated. 

            A board of high CIA officials, including Kendall, were already around a c-shaped table. Two guards escorted Sydney into the room, and tied her hands to the chair. Her feet remained cuffed. 

            "Agent Bristow," Kendall started. "You are aware that the presence of a lawyer is not allowed because of the accusations, and the fact that this is a matter of national security?"

            "Yes," Sydney said, looking at the board with empty eyes.

            "Good, now please recap the events of the past week, beginning with what happened with the mission in Nevada," Kendall requested.

            "My mission was to obtain documents about the latest Rambaldi artifact," Sydney said reluctantly. Before she could continue Kendall interrupted.

            "For the record, Agent Bristow, we would appreciate if you mention all specifics of the past week," Kendall said coldly.

            Sydney struggled to keep her expression from portraying her anger. "The documents were on a crystal that SD-6 desired to obtain. However, they had no idea that it was currently in the possession of the CIA, and neither did the CIA. Sloane hoped that the documents would tell what the crystal did and where it was located. My counter mission was to make copies of the documents that I had retrieved and place them in an unmarked manila envelope in a trashcan located on Demark Avenue. After this was completed, I was to head back to the hotel room where I was to be staying with my SD-6 partner, Marcus Dixon." Sydney stopped talking and waited for Kendall's next question. She wasn't going to give them any more answers than she had to. Unfortunately, Kendall was asking all the right questions.

            "What did the documents say, and what went wrong with the mission?" Kendall asked, without looking up from whatever paper was located on his desk.

            "I had obtained the documents from a man named, James LaRose, an associate of Henry DeLime. He had disappeared after the break-in. The documents were written by DeLime to LaRose stating that the crystal had been placed in the Rambaldi watch for safe keeping. Sloane up to that point had suspected me of being a double agent, and after a few calls, it was proved that I was the one who had stolen the watch in Rome, and that the CIA was then in possession of the watch.

            "Sloane's team surrounded me as I was about to make the drop-off, and took me to a warehouse. There, I was knocked unconscious. Within that time frame they dyed my hair blonde, changed my eye color, inserted an audio transmitter and tracking device in my neck, and were transporting me back to the SD-6 facility. I managed to except for two hours when we reached the outskirts of LA. I cut through the cemetery, I spied," Sydney swallowed. "I saw Agent Vaughn at my grave. After that I ran, but they soon found me because of the transmitter they had placed in my neck. I was taken to the basement of the SD-6 facility awaiting the orders of the Alliance."

            Kendall nodded. "Tell me about the basement agents."

            Sydney sighed, _this is hell_.

* * *

            Vaughn sat at his desk with his elbow on the desk's surface and his right cheek resting in his hand. Things had never gone so wrong. He didn't know how things were going to play out. He didn't even know who to turn to anymore. Jack Bristow seemed to want to put the agency before his daughter and Weiss was a good friend, but he didn't really fully understand his feelings for Sydney. 

            "How ya hangin', bro?" Weiss asked with sympathetic eyes. 

            "You heard?" Vaughn said, not really caring if he had or not.

            "Heard? This place is like a high school. Rumors spread like crazy. I've heard about twenty versions of the event, but I want to know what happened from you."

            Vaughn related the night's events, and Weiss let out a whistle. "Then you must not be looking forward to this," Weiss said holding up a white envelope in his hand with Vaughn's name on the front. 

            "What is it?" Vaughn asked, sitting up in his chair.

            "A letter from the CIA security board," Weiss said handing the letter to Vaughn. Vaughn turned his attention to the opening of the letter. Once he had opened it, he pulled out the stationary and read its contents. Weiss could only watch Vaughn's expression as he read it.

            "What does it say?" Weiss asked, unable to control his curiosity any longer. 

            "They're suspending me," Vaughn said throwing the letter on his desk. "I'm suspended until the board has fully reviewed my file upon which they will decide whether or not to fire me."

* * *

            Sydney slumped tiredly in the uncomfortable chair she was tied to. She had answered all of Kendall's questions to the best of her ability, but she could tell he doubted every word. However, he couldn't prove that her words were false. The problem was, he didn't need to. Thus being a situation of national security, they had no reason not to hold her.

            "Alright Agent Bristow, we're done for the night," Kendall said, as the other board members began to file out. Kendall motioned at the security guards who came to Sydney's side, and unhooked her from the chair. After recuffing her hands, she followed the guards out into the hallway.

            Too tired to ask where she was going, she followed them in silence. They entered a door, guarded by a single man in a booth, three metal gates were lifted, and she found herself in front of a single window room. The room contained one bed, and one chair. Similar to a room that she had seen so many times while visiting her mother. She was now a prisoner of the United States government.

            Sydney felt numb as the door to the room opened and she stepped in. Her chains were removed and the door locked, leaving her alone. She listened to the gates close one after another, and all she could think of was the word traitor. They thought her to be a traitor. The very word went against everything she believed in, and what was worse, was that her father thought her to be one too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have helped Kendall capture her.

            Sydney headed over to the single bed, and lay down. The bed was hard, with no spring in it. Sydney pulled the single pillow close to her cheek, and let the tears flow from her eyes. 

            "When did everything go so wrong?" She asked the empty room. The walls stood sturdy and unresponsive to her question.

* * *

            "I want to see Agent Bristow," Vaughn demanded to the guard in charge of Sydney's cell. With Weiss's help, he had tracked down exactly what had happened to Sydney, and where she was located.

            The guard shook his head. "Name?"

            Vaughn thought for a moment about giving the guard a fake name, but knew it was useless. The computer would pull up a photo ID. "Michael Vaughn." The guard tapped his name into the computer.

            "Sorry, Agent Vaughn, but you don't have clearance. According to this you've been suspended from the CIA."

            "It's not activated till the end of the day," Vaughn said through clenched teeth. "I still have clearance."

            "Nope. Your name has been flagged. You're not allowed to see Agent Bristow. Orders of Agent Kendall," the guard said.

            Agent Vaughn just nodded. He had figured that Kendall would have taken the liberty of making sure he wasn't allowed to see Sydney. Vaughn turned away and walked back to his desk, but soon changed his path when he came up with an idea. 

            "Weiss!" Vaughn said, walking over to his friend.

            "Uh-oh," Weiss said, watching Vaughn. 

            "Has anyone called in after Sydney's broadcast?" Vaughn asked him.

            "I don't know, maybe. Why?" Weiss asked.

            "Depending on what information any callers may bring in, I may have a plan to take down the Alliance. Once, and for all."


	21. Count Down

A/N: I apologize greatly to all of you. Since the end of the snow days you all have most likely become accustomed to my adding on at least once a week, and it has currently been two! But it is now Spring Break (thank goodness) and I will try to get a few more posts in. Plus I've thoroughly been thinking over how I want this story to go, so please don't be mad! I'll try to update this more often! Please keep reading and reviewing. Oh, and I apologize in advance for any obvious or stupid errors, because in my rush to post, I didn't review my writing thoroughly. Chapter 21 

            The CIA had received countless calls, e-mails and messages since Sydney's broadcast. The problem was, most of these sources had not been to provide answers, but to ask questions, and most of them were from reporters. They all wanted to know what the hell was going on, so when Weiss and Vaughn approached Ben Miles, the man assigned to sort through the calls and the e-mails, and offered him help, he readily agreed.

            The three of them had already been searching and reading for an hour, and so far there was nothing. Everyone who had called or wrote in information to the CIA just wanted clarification of the broadcast. None of them believed what Sydney had said, which was not going to prove beneficial in Kendall's eyes. 

            "Agent Vaughn? Agent Weiss?" Miles called them over, slightly cowering in the presence of the two agents, as he nervously pushed his glasses back onto his nose. "The e-mail is addressed to Sydney Bristow, and for Sydney only." 

            Vaughn and Weiss looked at the screen, and it said exactly that while being highlighted in blue and underlined as a hyperlink. 

            "Open it anyway," Vaughn said eagerly. Miles clicked on it, and a box popped up asking for the password. 

            "Password?" Weiss exclaimed in disbelief. "Why would someone said Sydney an e-mail and make her give a password she can't possibly know?"

            Vaughn looked around the e-mail for clues. The account was with Yahoo, which most likely meant that the account was meant to be used temporarily, and any information Yahoo may have received was faked. Vaughn then turned his attention to the subject of the e-mail. The subject was the key, Vaughn realized after reading it. The subject was simply, "Broadcast Help," followed by "ZUNFZCQNMTLADQ2."

            "Type in the series of letters that the sender wrote as the subject as the password," Vaughn said, waiting as Miles typed. He finished entering the data and pushed enter.

            "Access denied," Miles said, as he pushed the OK button on the popup that appeared on his screen. 

            "It's a code, then," Vaughn said, looking at the letters carefully. Quickly he reached for the nearest piece of paper and pulled out a pen, and wrote down all the letters of the alphabet. After going back and forth between the paper and the subject for a few minutes, he figured it out. 

            "Here, does this mean anything to either of you?" Vaughn held up the paper with the letters he had written. It now spelt out: AVOGADRONUMBER3. Weiss shook his head but Ben nodded

            "It's Avagadro's number. A unit in chemistry in relation to moles. The actual number is quite large, but abbreviated, it's 6.022 times ten to the twenty-third power," Miles explained.

            Vaughn looked at him slightly dumbfounded, but carried on. "So what do you think the three means?"

            "I'm not sure. It could mean times three, divided by three, raised to the third power, to the third decimal place, or even finding the cubed root of it."

            "Ok," Weiss said thoughtfully. "Let's try the only choice you said that I recognized. Let's try it to the third decimal place. Just type in 6.02."

            Miles did as Weiss asked and seconds later, they were in. "Incredible my friend," Vaughn said, smiling at Weiss.

            "You think that was incredible? How the hell did you figure out that code?"

            Vaughn shrugged. "Each of the letters he gave us, represented a letter that came before the actual letter that spelled out the word. I used to make codes like that when I was a kid." Weiss gave Vaughn a weird look, and turned back to the computer screen. 

            "Holy cow," Vaughn breathed as he read the document. "This person sent us the exact location of the Rambaldi watch and crystal within the SD facility and information about its function."

            Weiss looked at Vaughn with excited eyes. "That means we can get it back and use it to take over the Alliance."

            "Yeah," Vaughn said slowly. "But it can also be a trap."

            "We need that crystal," Weiss reminded, really knowing that he didn't need to convince Vaughn to go through with this.

            "And we need Sydney."

            "Oh-no you don't Vaughn," Weiss said shaking his head. "We're going to be enough trouble as it is. We're already breaking into SD-6 without authorization and breaking your suspension. I don't think we should add stealing a prisoner of the US to those charges."

            "She's not the enemy!" Vaughn yelled. "Besides, she knows SD-6 better than either of us."

            Weiss shock his head. "When I lose my job, I'm expecting you to find me a new one." Weiss said it jokingly, but there was also truth in his words.

            "Tonight, we have to do it tonight." 

* * *

            "You ready?" Vaughn whispered. It was eleven-thirty, and they were in the basement of the CIA building. Weiss and himself were fully equipped in black, and were planning on cutting the power, just as Sydney had. They knew that the power would only be off for a short time before it would alert other agents of the power outage, so they had to move fast. 

            "Yeah, let's do it!" Vaughn reached out a gloved hand, and pulled the switch, in seconds, the hallway became dark. Being careful to memorize the hallway when they came, Vaughn led the way, running down the hall. 

            They ran threw the main CIA office area and to Sydney's cell. Before they entered the room with the guard, they stopped to put on ski masks to hide their faces. Seconds later, they burst into the room. Vaughn pointed his gun at the guard and fired, before the guard could even remove his gun from his holster while Weiss fired at the security cameras.

            Vaughn's tranquilizer knocked the guard out instantly, and Vaughn went for his keys. Since the power was out, each gate would have to be opened automatically, one at a time. Vaughn opened the first gate and went to the second one, but it refused to budge.

            "What the hell is wrong with this thing?" Vaughn asked, jiggling the key and as he tried to pull up the gate.

            "It's must be the system," Weiss said. Weiss stepped between gates one and two, and pulled gate one down. As soon as gate one clicked, gate two opened. 

            "Damn," Vaughn said, as he closed the second gate. "This is going to slow us down."

            They reached Sydney's cell a minute later, and Vaughn was working on the door.

            "Vaughn," Sydney said, getting up from her bed, her hair in a limp pony tail. "What are you-"

            "We'll explain on the way, we don't have much time," Vaughn said, holding the door open while throwing the keys back to Weiss so they could get out of there as quick as possible. Sydney followed the two of them in silence, but couldn't help and wonder about the guard that was knocked unconscious, and the power outage within the whole building.

            They headed to a car Sydney didn't recognize, and stopped. Vaughn reached into his pocket and pulled out a skin colored ear piece. 

            "Here put this in, and I'll explain while you get dressed," Vaughn said, handing Sydney a black outfit similar to his own. 

            "I have to get into the trunk don't I?" Sydney asked, wishing for some sort of explanation.

            Vaughn gave her an apologetic smile. "Yes, but I promise I'll explain why." Sydney looked at him, and finally nodded and got into the trunk that Vaughn had opened. Vaughn started the car and Sydney began to dress. As soon as she was dressed, she fired off her questions.

            "I'm waiting for that explanation," Sydney said into her com-piece.

            "We received intel from someone who saw your broadcast. They told us where the Rambaldi crystal was and how we could use it to our benefit. We decided we couldn't do it without you," Vaughn.

            "What will we do once we have the crystal?" Sydney asked.

            "Take down the Alliance."

            "Vaughn!" Sydney cried in disbelief. "Are you crazy? There is no way the three of us can take down the Alliance, crystal or no crystal."

            "It's not just us," Vaughn said defensively. "We recruited ten other agents to help us out."

            "Vaughn, you know that I'm more determined than the next person to take down the Alliance, but alone? It's not possible," Sydney said over the com in a hurried tone.

            "This diamond, Rambaldi's diamond, has special properties. The e-mail we received that all we have to do is smash the diamond-"

            "Smash it? It's a priceless artifact," Sydney interrupted.

            "Let me finish," Vaughn said, getting a little frustrated with Sydney's reluctance. "The diamond will break into twelve equal pieces. Equal in every aspect, weight, volume, and shape. The amazing thing is that when the diamond reacts with water, it forms a gas. It's more powerful than anything we've dealt with. It will knock you out in an instant, and it can actually kill you, if you breathe it for more than ten minutes."

            Sydney was silent for a minute. "Why twelve? Was this diamond designed for the Alliance?"

            "The resource who sent the e-mail believes that the diamond may indeed have something to do with the Rambaldi watch, speaking that the diamond breaks into twelve pieces and the watch has twelve digits," Vaughn said.

            Sydney sighed. She was indeed excited by the prospect of taking down SD-6 and the Alliance but she was a little weary of the source that Vaughn was staking everything on. She was also worried that this was a trap, but she decided not to pursue the matter anymore.

            "So we're on our way to retrieve the crystal?" Sydney asked.

            "Once we have it and confirm that it does what our source says it does, then by noon tomorrow the Alliance will no longer exist."


	22. The Mission: Part 1

A/N: Thanks for all your reviews. I swear, your all's compliments are going to go straight to my head. I'm just so happy that this story has been such a success and that you all are enjoying it so. Oh, and HoneyB, I meant to write this in the post of my last chapter, but I can still say it now. You think my story is incredible, happening all in one week?? Well it's nothing compared to that show 24. Where each show is literally an hour. Now that show is unbelievable! Hehehe, but I know what you mean, my story has been very action packed, but that's just how I like 'em. So, everyone please continue to read and review, and I hope everyone has a happy Easter! Chapter 22 

            The diamond was located on the fourth floor, in a lab that was laid out quite similarly to the CIA's, security wise that is. An electronic key code was used to enter, along with the hand print of an authorized employee. Having worked at SD-6 for the amount of years she had, she had obtained full prints of all the employees. Vaughn had taken it upon himself to make a copy of the hand prints of a SD-6 lab worker so that Sydney could open the lab door. 

            The mission was this: Sydney would go into SD-6 to retrieve the crystal alone, to make things go quickly. Sydney would use the hand copy to enter the lab. The crystal was located in a safe in the back of the lab. With the help of one of the CIA's many safe-crackers, Sydney would open the safe, retrieve the crystal, and report back to Weiss and Vaughn who were waiting in the SD-6 parking lot. 

            They arrived at the SD-6 building in a matter of minutes, and with a last look at Vaughn, Sydney headed into the building. Since it was after hours and Sydney was no longer a functional member of the Alliance, she avoided the elevator. The stairs required a key to enter any door onto an SD-6 floor, which Sydney possessed, but wasn't planning on using. For even the use of the stairs required an agent to be scanned into the SD-6 offices, and she couldn't allow security section to be alerted. 

            By the third floor, a ventilation shaft was visible, and after quickly removing the screen, Sydney was in. "I'm in the ventilation shaft, third floor," Sydney said into her com-piece. "I need some direction."

            "Ok," Vaughn said, looking over Weiss's shoulder at the map of SD-6. "Continue straight ahead. Turn left at the first tunnel on your left, and keep making left turns."

            "How many?" Sydney asked.

            "Three, then you want to take a right, and a left. You'll then be on the fourth floor." Sydney followed Vaughn's directions, and when she reached the final left turn, she looked around for a vent so she could drop down into the room. She spied one about ten feet from where she was. She removed the vent and looked down. It was about a fifteen-foot drop, so she undid the rope that she had tied around her waist and tied it to a pipe that was protruding from the vent. She let the rope hang down, and began to claim down slowly to avoid rope burn. 

            The foggy glass doors of the lab were visible from where she was standing, and she quickly began to walk towards the lab. Pulling out the copied hand print, which was made out of some sort of plastic material, she put it on. With the other hand, she began to enter in the key code. It only took a few seconds, and Sydney was in the lab. 

            Not wasting any time, Sydney headed to the back of the lab, looking for the safe. "Vaughn, I don't have visual on safe," Sydney whispered into her com.

            "Just a second." Weiss typed furiously on the computer and located Sydney's position and compared it to the position of the safe. "It should be right in front of you."

            "I don't see it," Sydney said, as she walked closer. She moved her hand up and down the wall and could faintly make out a slight space in the wall. A closer look revealed that the space made a complete square. 

            "I don't know what to tell you, Syd, maybe our source was wrong," Vaughn said, sounding slightly disappointed.

            'No, there is something here, I just can't figure out how to open it." Sydney took her knuckles and rapped on it to see if was hallow, and the door swung open, revealing a small black safe. "I found it." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a device to open the safe. She hooked it up to the safe, and turned it on. A quick but silent beep signaled that the safe was open, and Sydney unhooked the device. She pulled open the safe a spied the watch, lying in the back. Sydney pulled out the watch, and placed in her pocket. She closed the safe quickly, and headed towards the vent. 

            She opened and closed the lab door, and headed towards the dangling rope, just as she spied three security guards running towards her, armed. She ran for the rope, and climbed frantically to the top. The guards had already opened fire. Sydney reached the air vent and quickly undid the knot that she had tied to the pipe. Gunshots were blasting in the vent, echoing loudly through the metal. Sydney however, continued to crawl through the shaft, trying to remember the way she had previously traveled, as the air ducts creaked and groaned. 

            Suddenly, the metal support that held one end of the tunnel that Sydney occupied collapsed. Sydney reached for the nearest metal pipe and slowly began to pull herself away from the collapsed duct that had turned into a sort of slide. "Vaughn!" she said into her com through clenched teeth. "I need an out, fast!"

            Weiss was already typing furiously on the keyboard. "Take your first left out of there, Syd." Sydney didn't say a word as she continued to climb up out of the fallen duct. She breathed a sigh of relief until the firing ceased and she was able to make out the noise of one of the vents being removed. 

            "Shit," Sydney said under her breath. 

            "Syd, you okay?" Vaughn asked concerned.

            "I've got a guard on my tail. I need up to the minute directions," Sydney said as she began crawling furiously down the tunnel to the left.

            "Take your next right," Weiss said. Sydney crawled into the tunnel to her right just as her pursuer got a shot off, missing her by inches. "Then take the tunnel to your left."

            Sydney took the tunnel just as another shot was fired. He was gaining on her. Sydney continued down the tunnel, and her heart quickened. "Weiss, it's a dead end," she said panicking slightly. "I need direction."

            Vaughn looked anxiously over Weiss's shoulder. "Why does the map say there's a tunnel?"

            "I don't know, I don't know," Weiss said, typing furiously. Meanwhile Sydney was taking in her options. She spied a vent not far from where she was. Not caring where it might lead to, she kicked it open and dropped down onto another office floor. She took a quick scan of the office and dove under the nearest desk that completely covered the feet area from any onlookers. 

            Sydney heard the thud of her pursuer hitting the ground. Sydney scanned the wooden wall in front of her a spied a tiny hole. She moved her eye to it and saw the man. His back was currently towards her, but his arms were outstretched with a weapon in hand. Sydney moved slowly to her feet, being quiet not to make any noise. 

            Just as he was about to turn around to scour the area behind him, Sydney came running at him and delivered a kick to the back of his knees, causing them to buckle. He fell to his knees as Sydney gave him a sharp blow to the head. He was down in no town.      

            Sydney ran to her right where a sign labeled "stairs" was located, and took them two at a time. She was only one floor away from the parking lot when a shot from above was fired. Sydney continued down the stairwell when a second shot ran out, grazing her arm. Sydney ignored the pain that ripped through the injury, and kept running. 

            She reached the bottom and pushed open the door. "I'm the parking lot." Sydney said, just as Vaughn pulled up in the vehicle that he had "borrowed" from the CIA. Weiss opened the sliding side door, and Sydney jumped in, just as the guard came bursting through the door. The red tail lights lit up the parking lot in mockery. 


	23. The Meeting

A/N: Sorry everyone about not posting in so long, but in case any of you didn't know already, school sucks. I've got AP and SOL tests coming up, so I can't guarantee that the next post will be soon. I will try to add-on whenever I can. Who knows, you may see more this weekend, but we'll see. Just one thing, if anyone is strictly against animal cruelty I just want you to know that I feel the same way you do, and the post I have in here just seemed to be what they'd do to test the gas, so it's not meant to offend anyone. Anywayz, keep reading and reviewing! Oh and also check out some of my work at fictionpress.net!

Chapter 23

            Jack Bristow reached for his phone that awoke him from his slumber. "Bristow," he said, somewhat sleepily, but with more alertness than the average individual.

            "I want to know what the hell your daughter and Agent Vaughn are trying to pull!" Jack instantly recognized the voice of Kendall, and he could tell that he was more than pissed. 

            "What has happened?" Jack asked.

            "Agent Vaughn and Agent Weiss have completely shut down the power, knocked out a CIA agent, bailed Sydney out of CIA custody, and stole tech gear along with one of our unmarked vans! What the hell has happened to this office?" Kendall yelled, finishing his angry tirade.

            "I assure you, Sir, that I have no idea what Agent Vaughn or my daughter are up to, but I'll do everything I can to find out," Jack said.

            "Fine, get in here within the hour," Kendall said, hanging up. Jack slammed the phone down in anger and threw it against the wall. He loved Sydney more than he'd admit, more than he'd even show, but her actions were inexcusable. And Vaughn…he just needed to leave his daughter alone.

* * *

            Vaughn, Sydney, and Weiss all stared at the Rambaldi crystal under the harsh fluorescent light. They were in the basement of Agent Melanie Spence, one of the agents who had been recruited for the mission. The outside of the Rambaldi watch had carefully been removed, to reveal a crystal, no taller than a dime. It was perfect in every way, and Vaughn currently held a hammer to it. 

            "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Weiss asked, looking uneasily at the hammer. 

            "No," Vaughn answered honestly, "but it's the only lead we've got." Vaughn raised the hammer just slightly below his chin and then brought it down upon the crystal. It broke apart just as easily as if it were a puzzle into twelve equally shaped crystals. 

            "Good, now everyone get their gas masks and come to the back yard. Weiss, grab the rat and meet us outside," Vaughn said, referring to the rat that he had stolen from the CIA lab. 

            The night was dark, as it always is at three-thirty in the morning. "Everyone put on your gas masks." Vaughn motioned towards Weiss, who set the rat in a box on the ground. Vaughn put one piece of the crystal in the box and pulled out a container of water and an eyedropper. He filled the dropper up halfway, took a quick glance at his audience to be assured their masks were on, and dropped one single drop of water onto the crystal. The reaction was instantaneous. Within seconds of dropping water on the crystal, the rat lay still in the box. The crystal was not a size smaller, and the gas hadn't even been visible. 

            Vaughn picked up the crystal and left the rat in the box. Vaughn smiled from behind his mask, and from the look in Sydney's eyes, she was smiling too. "You have a secure line Mel?" Agent Spencer nodded.  It's time to call the meeting."

* * *

            Within a half an hour, Agent Spence's basement was filled with eight new comers. Two agents that had originally planned to come couldn't be reached. Vaughn thought for a moment, trying to decide what to do, and Agent Spence picked up on it.

            "Go ahead and start the meeting, Vaughn, I'll keep trying to reach Agent Conrad and Agent Richards." Vaughn nodded his thanks to her suggestions, and turned towards the agents.

            "Thank you all for coming, especially in the middle of the night, and for our cause. Before we begin, I must inform you all that whether things go right or wrong, there may or may not be consequences for our actions. I'm giving any of you the option right now to leave this operation." Vaughn swallowed and waited. No one moved. "None of you will be thought of any less by leaving." Vaughn paused again, but again, no one moved.

            "Okay, you were all giving a brief layout of what we plan to go down when I contacted you, but here is the rest. Now, thanks to Agent Bristow," Vaughn passed Sydney a quick glance, "we can finally put the plan into action." Vaughn picked a piece of the Rambaldi crystal and held it up for everyone to see. "This is the Rambaldi crystal. There are twelve pieces of the crystal, which means each one of you will get one piece of the crystal. Hang on to it with your life. 

            "You'll also be given a canteen of water and a map of your SD facility. Your job is to get into the vents tonight unseen. At nine o'clock exactly, each of you will put the Rambaldi crystal into your canteen leaving the top off. Before nine o'clock you must be wearing your gas mask because as soon as the crystal touches the water, an invisible gas will begin to exit from the canteen. Once the all occupants on the floor have been knocked out, put the cap on the canteen and contact me. After you've contacted me and are assured that everyone is unconscious, leave the floor and disconnect the power, and phones." Vaughn stopped and motioned Sydney over. She took Vaughn's spot and continued on.

            "On the maps you'll be receiving it is clearly marked where all vent entries are, where the power and phone controls are located, and where the emergency switch is that will automatically lock all the doors on the floor. You will then wait until the CIA arrives. Your gas mask will remain on at all times, and if there are any problems, contact Vaughn or me. Any questions?"

            Agent Tom Willard raised his hand. "If we cut the power before we activate the emergency switch, how will the doors lock?"

            "The doors are controlled by a separate remote controlled system that is being battery powered," Sydney explained. "Anyone else?" No one raised their hand. 

            "Vaughn?" Sydney said, calling him back over, just as the doorbell upstairs rang. Agent Spence ran upstairs to answer it, and came back with Agent Evan Richards. 

            "Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "I got…err…held up." Vaughn nodded his understanding, but looked concerned. 

            "Any word from Agent Conrad?" He asked Melodie.

            "No, sorry, Vaughn."

            "Agent Holmes, please catch Agent Richards up on what he missed. Weiss, can you pass out the maps please?" Weiss nodded, and Vaughn pulled Sydney aside. 

            "We need another agent," Vaughn said to Sydney.

            Sydney gave Vaughn a weird look. "Why? We've got thirteen. That's enough for each one of us to go into a SD facility with one left over to watch over surveillance cameras."

            "I don't want you to go in alone," Vaughn earnestly. "I want to go with you."

            "Vaughn," Sydney said, getting slightly peeved at the idea that Vaughn may think her to be incapable of defending herself. "I can take care-"

            "I didn't mean it like that, Syd. I've had almost as much time as you to analyze SD-6 and what they're capable of. There is no doubt that if something were to go wrong, they'd seek revenge." Vaughn turned his gaze to the floor.

            "Vaughn, nothing's going to go wrong," Sydney whispered, stepping closer to him. "I promise." With that, Sydney's lips met Vaughn's in a kiss. 

            "Come on, love birds," Weiss said coming up between them, and giving them each a map. "We leave in half an hour."


	24. Closing Remarks

A/N: Here it is everyone, the final chapter. I apologize again for the time it took for me to post this, but I hope it was worth the wait. The next entry is the epilogue which is actually the start of another story (I explain further in the epilogue). Anywho, thank you all for reviewing, and I hope you all will give this story a final review. I would appreciate any reviewers to please rate my story 1-10 (10 being the best) and explain why. I know it sounds like something out of English class, but I'm really curious to what you thought of it. Thank you all! 

Chapter 24

            The whole scene seemed to take place in slow motion. All thirteen agents were loaded into the CIA van, all of them dressed in black and supplied with rope, a gun, a flashlight, the canteen of water, a gas mask, and the Rambaldi crystal. Weiss was at the wheel, dropping each agent off two blocks away from each SD facility. Vaughn was designated to SD-5, and Sydney SD-6. 

            Weiss stopped the truck two blocks from the SD-6 facility, and waited for Sydney to leave. Agent Horner who was nearest to the door, slid the door open and waited. Sydney gave Vaughn one last look and headed out of the van. As soon as she was out, Agent Horner slammed the door shut, and the van went riding away. Gradually, each agent was dropped off, leaving only Weiss and Vaughn. Weiss slowed the van and stopped in the same location as he did all the others. Vaughn didn't move. He was still looking at the door that eleven agents had exited out of, but he was only thinking of one.

            "She'll be okay, Vaughn," Weiss said to his friend. 

            "How can you be sure?" Vaughn whispered. "How can you be sure?"

* * *

            Sydney looked at her watch. It was 8:57 a.m. She had been in a vent that overlooked the SD-6 offices for almost four hours, and in three minutes everything she had worked so hard to end was finally going to be over. She took one last look over the office she used to work in, all the familiar faces. Everyone's lives in this office were about to change, just as hers had. 

8:58 a.m. Sydney pulled out her gas mask and put it on. She reached into her holster and pulled out the canteen and the crystal. 

8:59 a.m. Sydney took the lid off the canteen and waited. Fifteen…fourteen…thirteen…twelve…eleven…ten… Sydney held the crystal above the canteen. Five…four…three…two…one… Vaughn dropped the crystal in the container, and waited. In a few seconds, agents were already falling. One after another, until everyone in his view was down.

            Vaughn put the cap back on the container and kicked the vent open, and waited. No one came running from the offices. 

            "Boy Scout, this is Ranger, mission completed," came the voice from the SD-2 facility.

            "Boy Scout, this is Blue Gill, mission completed," came the voice from the SD-7 facility. 

            "Boy Scout, this is Red Eye, mission completed," reported the agent for SD-9 facility. The reports came pouring in of completed missions. _Come on, Sydney. Where are you? _Vaughn thought worriedly. 

            "Boy Scout, this is Mountaineer, mission completed." Vaughn smiled. It was all finally over. 

            "Good job everyone, continue with phase two. I'll contact the agency immediately," Vaughn said. As happy as he was to have taken down the Alliance, he was not looking forward to this call. "Everyone please report in after you've locked down the office."

            Sydney continued to the nearest exit door and down to the basement, where she immediately found the power box and phone connections. A few seconds later, they were a heap of junk hanging on the wall. Sydney continued up the stairs, back to the floor of the SD-6 facility. Sydney was about to go pull the switch to put the floor on lockdown, when she spied a single man standing in the middle of the room. Sydney reached for her gun when she saw that he had a gas mask on.

            "Don't move!" Sydney yelled sounding slightly distorted from the mask. The man, who had originally been facing the window, turned around to face her. 

            "Ah, Agent Bristow, we finally meet," he said smoothly stepping towards her.

            "I said don't move!" Sydney yelled again, and the man stopped for only a second before charging at Sydney, keeping his head below gun level. He hit the gun out of her hand, and knocked her to her back. Sydney fell with a thud. The man went for the gun and grabbed it. He kept the gun steady in his hand and pointed it at Sydney. 

            "Take out your communicator, Agent Bristow," he said. Sydney raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, but didn't move for the earpiece as she remembered the gas mask. "The gas should be out of the air," he said as if reading her mind. "You can remove your mask and remove your com piece." Sydney grudgingly did as he asked. "Now give me the piece." Sydney did as he asked reluctantly, knowing that for the time being, there was no way that she could contact Vaughn. The man took the piece and crushed it with the heel of his shoe. Sydney didn't react.

            "Who are you? How do you know my name?" Sydney asked. The man kept one hand firmly on the gun and removed his mask to reveal a man who looked to be in his mid-fifties with graying brown hair. His hazel eyes were cold and hard. 

            "My friend, Arvin told me all about you. I'm sure you know him?" He asked. Sydney didn't answer. "My name's Frank, Frank Porter. After Arvin's unfortunate death the Alliance put me in charge of SD-6. I've gone through your files, Agent Bristow, very impressive." 

            "I'm glad you like the work I've done to take down your agency," Sydney said coldly.

            Porter smiled. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong, Agent Bristow. This is not my agency any longer, nor does it belong to the Alliance. With the Alliance off my back, I'm free to indulge on my own projects."

            Sydney's eyes widened. "You sent the information about the crystal to the CIA."

            Porter chuckled. "Quick aren't you? Yes, I sent you the information. I was recruited into the Alliance twenty years ago, but I've watched it fall. I knew the Alliance was not going to be around much longer, but I couldn't just leave, so I decided to help the CIA."

            "How honorable," Sydney said sarcastically. 

            "Indeed," Porter answered back in a sly voice, just before glancing at his watch. "I must be leaving you Agent Bristow, but before I do, I must ask, will you work for me? Your skills as an agent would be very beneficial to our agency."

            "Never," Sydney said through clenched teeth. 

            "You're sure?" he asked unconvinced. "Because if you say no, well, I have orders to kill you."

            "You're a fucking hypocrite," Sydney said angrily. "You say you helped the CIA bring down the Alliance, but yet, you're not hesitating to kill a CIA agent?"

            "Ah, doesn't seem logical does it? The thing is Agent Bristow that you are a huge asset to the CIA, something we want for our agency. If you say no to us, I'm afraid the CIA can't have you either," he said as he cocked the gun. "Not fair is it?"

* * *

            Vaughn was starting to panic. Every other agent had reported in at least a half an hour ago, except Sydney. He had already phoned the CIA (avoiding Kendall of course) and asked them to proceed to all the facilities, which didn't reassure him one bit. Sydney's com was completely unreachable, and Vaughn wanted to know why. Unfortunately, he could tell he wasn't going to find out anytime as soon as Kendall arrived.

            "Agent Vaughn, I want to know what the hell you were thinking, and I want answers right now," Kendall demanded.

            "The CIA wasn't doing anything to take down the Alliance. We got the intel, we went in, simple as that," Vaughn replied evenly, not really in the mood to argue with Kendall.

            "Oh, is that all?" Kendall asked incredulously. "Because you're completely capable of assigning your own missions. Agent Vaughn, do you realize that you've broken at least a dozen CIA rules? That you've endangered the lives of twelve CIA agents? That-"

            "They came willingly," Vaughn interrupted. "Look, I accept full responsibility for their actions, for everything that's happened tonight, for whatever you want me to accept, I don't care. What I do care about is Sydney. She never reported in, I want to know if she's okay."

            "Agent Vaughn, you are not going anywhere." Kendall waved a senior officer over. "Agent Vaughn, I'm putting you under full arrest. You are not to leave this spot without permission from me, and only me. If you do, I promise you, you will be arrested and placed in a federal prison." Kendall strode away leaving Vaughn alone with his thoughts and a stranger. 

* * *

            Sydney stared into the barrel of the gun. Porter fired, and Sydney moved to the side, shooting her leg up at the same time so that the gun would land somewhere behind her. Sydney got to her feet, throwing a punch to the older man's stomach. He blocked her and kicked back. Sydney jumped back from his kick just as he delivered another one to her head. She fell back onto the floor, and he went running for the gun, but Sydney grabbed his leg before he could reach it.

            Sydney tried to get over him to get the gun, but he grabbed her ankle, and she fell hard. She felt a snap in her ankle. Sydney moaned, and in her second of hesitation, Porter had the gun again. This time, he wasn't hesitating. He fired the gun as Sydney rolled around on the floor to avoid his shots. Porter moved closer so that the gun was pointed straight at her heart. Sydney couldn't move.

            "Good bye, Agent Bristow," Porter said with a smile. Just as he was about to fire, another shot rang threw the air. Porter fell moaning to the ground. 

            Seconds later, a man was at her side. "Syd, you okay?"

            Sydney looked up at him in surprise. "Dixon? But how…?"

            "The minute I saw people fainting was the minute I covered my mouth and nose. It kept me from being knocked out immediately. It must have helped me to regain consciousness as well. I heard everything," Dixon said solemnly. Dixon then saw her arm. "Syd, you've been hit!"

            "Dixon, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have found out this way," Sydney said ignoring his exclamation. 

            "Syd, it's okay, really. I understand it had to have been hard to keep all this from me. But we've got to bandage this up," Dixon said, as he pulled out a handkerchief and tied it around her wound. When he finished he looked at her confused. "You've got to tell me what's going on."

            "What do you mean?" Sydney asked.

            "You're alive," Dixon said simply, not knowing how else to put it.

            Sydney's brow furrowed. "It's a long story Dixon. Can you help me up?" Sydney put her wait on Dixon as she stood, keeping her weight off her injured ankle. "I need to contact the CIA, is there a secure line I can use?"

            "The phone in-" Dixon started.

            "I cut the phone lines," Sydney interrupted. Dixon reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell-phone. 

            "I don't know how secure the line is, but it's the best I can do." Sydney gave Dixon a smile as she accepted the phone. She instantly dialed Vaughn's number, but there was no answer. 

            "What's that?" Dixon asked, referring to the sudden sound of slamming doors from outside. Dixon set Sydney down gently into the chair, and headed to the window. 

            "Is it the CIA?" Sydney asked. 

            "Yeah, they should be in here any minute," Dixon said, sounding a little worried. 

            "Everything will be fine, Dixon. In all actuality, they'll probably want to recruit you," Sydney said earnestly. 

            Dixon smiled his thanks and turned back towards the window, but seconds later, the door to their floor burst open, and the room was suddenly filled with agents. Sydney looked around for Vaughn, but didn't see him anywhere. This worried her, until she saw Weiss walk in among the crowd. 

            "Weiss!" She called out to him. He looked up and walked over, relief on his face. "Syd! You're okay!" Then Weiss saw the red saturated cloth around her arm. "You're not okay." Weiss said coming quickly to her side. 

            "It's fine, really. Vaughn?" Sydney asked with imploring eyes. 

            "Totally worried about you. Kendall wouldn't let him come," Weiss explained. It was just then that Sydney remembered Dixon.

            "Eric, this is Marcus Dixon, Dixon, this is Eric Weiss," Sydney said to the two men. They shook hands. 

            "Nice to meet you." It was the start of a whole new beginning.

* * *

            Sydney just stood there, unable to move as she stared across the room. Vaughn had stopped moving too. This was the first time they'd seen each other since the mission and the questioning. Both of them were suspended for one week for breaking CIA protocol and not getting their mission authorized, but otherwise the CIA was happy that the Alliance had been destroyed. If things had gone bad, their punishment would have been a whole lot worse. 

            Sydney gave Vaughn a smile as they approached each other from completely opposite sides of CIA headquarters. Sydney walked gingerly on her twisted ankle, but that didn't stop her from taking Vaughn into a huge hug. Vaughn held her tightly.

            "I'm so glad you're alright," Vaughn whispered into her ear.

            "You mean they didn't tell you?" Sydney asked pulling away slightly in surprise.

            "Yes," Vaughn said pulling Sydney closer again. "They told me, but I didn't believe them." Sydney smiled and their lips met in a passionate kiss. It wasn't until they stopped to catch their breath that Sydney spoke again.

            "Will and Francie?" She asked.

            "They'll be removed from custody." Vaughn looked into her eyes. "Is this going to change things between you three?"

            Sydney looked away. "I don't know," she whispered, slightly concerned. 

            "Hey," Vaughn said lifting her chin so that her eyes would meet his again. "It'll be okay." Vaughn laughed.

            "What's so funny?" Sydney asked confused.

            "Not to make things sound trivial, Syd, but confronting Will and Francie is probably going to be the easiest thing you've done all week."

            Sydney kissed Vaughn gently on the lips. "I think you're right." Sydney looked towards the door. "Don't we have a suspension to go to?"

            Vaughn smiled at the door. "Yeah," he whispered as he kissed her back. "I think we do."


	25. Epilogue

A/N: Thank you all again for reading my story. Your reviews made me incredibly happy, and I hope that all of you will read some of my future work, including the works I have at fictionpress.net. This epilogue is not part of this story, but actually the beginning to the plot of another story. However I'm going to continue My Two Countries before I write the sequel. Thank you everyone! Adieu. 

EPILOGUE

            "Dixon, I've got the vial. ETA is seven minutes," Sydney said into her com as she headed down the dark cement corridor.

            "Copy that Syd. Meet you at the drop off point." Sydney continued down the hall until she suddenly heard footsteps. She looked around and pulled open the door that was nearest to her and went in. It was then that she heard the voice of a little girl as she approached.

            "Where's my daddy? I want to see my daddy!" She was saying in Arabic. Sydney put an ear to the door.

            "Shut up!" She heard one of the men who was accompanying the girl yell. The next second she heard a loud smack and a yelp. As the girl walked past, she could make out the faint sound of whimpering. Sydney didn't know who the girl was, or what these men wanted with her, but she couldn't let her stay in their custody.

            Sydney pushed opened the door so that she was standing in the hallway, armed. "Close your eyes, little one!" She shouted in Arabic to the little girl who couldn't have been more than five or six. The little girl turned around in surprise to look at her, but did as she asked. The girl was accompanied by two guards who Sydney shot before they could get their guns from their holster. 

            Sydney ran to the little girl and pulled her up in her arms. "Are you okay?" Sydney asked her. She nodded. "Dixon?" Sydney said into her com, "we've got a little change in plans. ETA four minutes."

            "Alright, Syd. Whatever you say. I'm waiting for you," Dixon answered. Sydney was relieved that he didn't question her further.

            "Are we going to find daddy?" She asked. Sydney know what to say.

            "Yes," she said after a moment. "I'll help you find your daddy."


End file.
